Johannesburg - Darren Fichardt has fired a second round seven under par 65 to claim a three-stroke lead in the BMG Classic at Glendower Golf Club on Saturday.
Fichardt's 11 under two-round total after an opening 68 in the Sunshine Tour event, was three clear of Danie van Tonder, Jaco Ahlers and Jean Hugo.
“The putt on my last hole was really good,” Fichardt told the Sunshine Tour after his round.
“The putt was so fast down the hill, as were all of them on these greens. I was just hoping it was going to hit the hole and not roll off the green, because I hit it pretty hard. It was nice to see that one go in.”
Fichardt compiled eight birdies around the difficult course.
“Today, I really hit the ball very well.
“I knew the conditions were going to be testing. It was cold when we started, and the air was very thick – the ball wasn’t flying very far. I think I hit about four shots to ‘give’ distance, so my game’s clearly very good.”
Fichardt will be acutely aware that there were five players who shot six-under-par 66s in the second round, so he will not be able to relax in the final round.
Two of those players – Van Tonder and Ahlers – made 15 birdies between them.
The other three players to shoot 66 were Thomas Aiken, Divan van den Heever and Andrew Georgiou, and they find themselves grouped on four-under-par for the tournament. Seven strokes might be a lot to make up but not beyond the bounds of possibility.