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Mbabane - Justin Walters hasn't won since 2004, but he holds the lead in the R850 000 Investec Royal Swazi Open after making eight birdies in his second round on Thursday.
His lone Sunshine Tour victory came in the 2004 Parmalat Classic, a year after he turned professional.
"I feel like it's my week this week," said Walters after he fired eight birdies and one bogey in his second successive round of seven-under-par 65.
The tournament is played on a modified stableford system, with eight points for an albatross, five for an eagle, two for a birdie and none for par. One point is deducted for every bogey and two for double or worse.
So the bogey meant he was in the clubhouse with a four-point advantage over first-round leader Christiaan Basson, who made nine points in his second round with an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys in his three-under 69.
"It was a steady round," said Basson.
"I was battling a bit with the pace of the greens today. I was either hitting them through the break, or not hitting them enough. But I would have taken 28 at halfway if you'd offered it to me though."
Walters was somewhat surprised by the margin of his lead: "I thought Christiaan would have got more today, because he's been playing really well."
While Basson was battling, Walters was revelling on the greens. "I made some good putts to save par." he said.
His single bogey came on the 502-metre 17th, where he picked up an eagle three in the first round.
The old Walters might have brooded on it, but he didn't let it affect his final hole. "I took it in my stride and just walked up to the next tee.
"This relaxed approach is definitely helping me. I would love to win - I haven’t won since 2004, and I've just played myself out of contention in the past," he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
32 - Justin Walters 17 15
28 - Christiaan Basson 19 9
26 - Mark Williams 13 13
24 - Neil Schietekat 11 13
21 - Desvonde Botes 8 13
20 - Jake Roos 7 13
19 - Albert Pistorius 13 6
17 - Divan van den Heever 11 6, Trevor Fisher Jnr 10 7, Brandon Pieters 12 5
16 - Mark Murless 10 6, Alan Michell 4 12
15 - Doug McGuigan 12 3, Warren Abery 9 6, Louis de Jager 7 8
14 - Divan Gerber 12 2, Alex Haindl 12 2, JG Claassen 10 4, Willie van der Merwe 8 6
13 - Ryan Tipping 7 6, Oliver Bekker 12 1, Josh Cunliffe 2 11, David Hewan 3 10, Andre Cruse 6 7, PH McIntyre 7 6, Jaco Ahlers 6 7
12 - Nic Henning 7 5, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 9 3, Brett Liddle 10 2, Tyrone Mordt 11 1
11 - Merrick Bremner 4 7, PG van Zyl 6 5
10 - Dean O'Riley 6 4, Steven Ferreira 5 5, Daniel Greene 4 6, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 4 6, Prinavin Nelson 0 10, Grant Veenstra 3 7
9 - Colin Nel 4 5, Grant Muller 5 4, Derik Ferreira 0 9, Ulrich van den Berg 0 9
8 - Jean Hugo 0 8, Bradford Vaughan 1 7, Johan du Buisson 7 1, James Kamte 3 5, Allan Versfeld 7 1
7 - Chris Swanepoel -1 8, Omar Sandys 0 7
6 - Neil Cheetham (ENG) -1 7, Jacques Blaauw -2 8, Dion Fourie 3 3, Wynand Dingle 2 4, Justin Harding 4 2, Peter Karmis -2 8
Missed the cut:
5 - Darren Fichardt 2 3, Clinton Whitelaw 4 1, Andrew Curlewis 2 3
4 - JJ Senekal -4 8, Vaughn Groenewald -5 9, Mark Fensham -1 5, Meshack Zwane (SWZ) 1 3, Anthony Michael -2 6
3 - Johan Bekker 2 1, Toto Thimba (Jnr) -1 4
0 - Vickesh Singh 1 -1
-1 - TC Charamba (ZIM) 2 -3
-2 - Teboho Sefatsa -6 4
-4 - Attie Schwartzel -3 -1, Theunis Spangenberg -1 -3, Lindani Ndwandwe -2 -2
-13 - Joe Nawanga (NAM) -7 -6
His lone Sunshine Tour victory came in the 2004 Parmalat Classic, a year after he turned professional.
"I feel like it's my week this week," said Walters after he fired eight birdies and one bogey in his second successive round of seven-under-par 65.
The tournament is played on a modified stableford system, with eight points for an albatross, five for an eagle, two for a birdie and none for par. One point is deducted for every bogey and two for double or worse.
So the bogey meant he was in the clubhouse with a four-point advantage over first-round leader Christiaan Basson, who made nine points in his second round with an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys in his three-under 69.
"It was a steady round," said Basson.
"I was battling a bit with the pace of the greens today. I was either hitting them through the break, or not hitting them enough. But I would have taken 28 at halfway if you'd offered it to me though."
Walters was somewhat surprised by the margin of his lead: "I thought Christiaan would have got more today, because he's been playing really well."
While Basson was battling, Walters was revelling on the greens. "I made some good putts to save par." he said.
His single bogey came on the 502-metre 17th, where he picked up an eagle three in the first round.
The old Walters might have brooded on it, but he didn't let it affect his final hole. "I took it in my stride and just walked up to the next tee.
"This relaxed approach is definitely helping me. I would love to win - I haven’t won since 2004, and I've just played myself out of contention in the past," he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
32 - Justin Walters 17 15
28 - Christiaan Basson 19 9
26 - Mark Williams 13 13
24 - Neil Schietekat 11 13
21 - Desvonde Botes 8 13
20 - Jake Roos 7 13
19 - Albert Pistorius 13 6
17 - Divan van den Heever 11 6, Trevor Fisher Jnr 10 7, Brandon Pieters 12 5
16 - Mark Murless 10 6, Alan Michell 4 12
15 - Doug McGuigan 12 3, Warren Abery 9 6, Louis de Jager 7 8
14 - Divan Gerber 12 2, Alex Haindl 12 2, JG Claassen 10 4, Willie van der Merwe 8 6
13 - Ryan Tipping 7 6, Oliver Bekker 12 1, Josh Cunliffe 2 11, David Hewan 3 10, Andre Cruse 6 7, PH McIntyre 7 6, Jaco Ahlers 6 7
12 - Nic Henning 7 5, Jeff Inglis (ENG) 9 3, Brett Liddle 10 2, Tyrone Mordt 11 1
11 - Merrick Bremner 4 7, PG van Zyl 6 5
10 - Dean O'Riley 6 4, Steven Ferreira 5 5, Daniel Greene 4 6, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 4 6, Prinavin Nelson 0 10, Grant Veenstra 3 7
9 - Colin Nel 4 5, Grant Muller 5 4, Derik Ferreira 0 9, Ulrich van den Berg 0 9
8 - Jean Hugo 0 8, Bradford Vaughan 1 7, Johan du Buisson 7 1, James Kamte 3 5, Allan Versfeld 7 1
7 - Chris Swanepoel -1 8, Omar Sandys 0 7
6 - Neil Cheetham (ENG) -1 7, Jacques Blaauw -2 8, Dion Fourie 3 3, Wynand Dingle 2 4, Justin Harding 4 2, Peter Karmis -2 8
Missed the cut:
5 - Darren Fichardt 2 3, Clinton Whitelaw 4 1, Andrew Curlewis 2 3
4 - JJ Senekal -4 8, Vaughn Groenewald -5 9, Mark Fensham -1 5, Meshack Zwane (SWZ) 1 3, Anthony Michael -2 6
3 - Johan Bekker 2 1, Toto Thimba (Jnr) -1 4
0 - Vickesh Singh 1 -1
-1 - TC Charamba (ZIM) 2 -3
-2 - Teboho Sefatsa -6 4
-4 - Attie Schwartzel -3 -1, Theunis Spangenberg -1 -3, Lindani Ndwandwe -2 -2
-13 - Joe Nawanga (NAM) -7 -6
