Cape Town - Dean Burmester set a course for his fourth Sunshine Tour title of the year when he claimed the second-round lead at the Vodacom Origins of Golf presented by Samsung at Koro Creek Golf Estate on Friday.
“I have no words to describe my season, from the start right up until now. It’s special, isn’t it?” he said.
“I was thinking about it on the drive up here. I’ve won three so far and a fourth would seal a fantastic year. I’ve only missed four cuts, including my time in Europe, and with the amount of tournaments I’ve played I really take that to heart.”
According to the Sunshine Tour website, the big-hitting Bloemfonteiner shot 66 on Friday to reach 14-under-par after 36 holes, which set him two shots clear of second-placed Vaughn Groenewald.
“My ball striking was good today and I think I hit 16 greens, so that was the pinnacle of the game,” said Burmester.
“No bogeys on either day, which helps, along with an eagle and 12 birdies. We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings, because Vaughn is playing just as well as I am, so I’m sure it will be great fun!”
The 26-year-old returned to local shores after a stint in Europe and has hit the ground running.
“When you hit it out of the rough in Europe it’s easy to get flyers and soft lies. I’ve definitely learned about short game and you realise why those guys practice it so much. It’s not easy to hit greens from the rough over there. We’re fortunate over here, because the rough is not as long.
“Coming back and playing well in a tournament at home always boosts you. The top guys like Charl (Schwartzel) and George (Coetzee) say that when they come home and win it helps when you contend abroad. Hopefully I can take some confidence from here to European Tour School, which is my next stop,” he said.
SCORES (RSA unless otherwise specified):
130 - Dean Burmester 64 66
132 - Vaughn Groenewald 66 66
135 - Christiaan Basson 68 67, Toto Thimba (Jnr) 68 67
136 - Coert Groenewald 66 70, Drikus Bruyns 71 65
138 - Jacques Kruyswijk 69 69, Jacques Blaauw 70 68, Glen de Waal (NAM) 70 68, Justin Harding 70 68, Theunis Spangenberg 71 67
139 - Louis de Jager 66 73, Andrew Georgiou (CYP) 71 68, Ockie Strydom 70 69, Zander Lombard 71 68, PH McIntyre 67 72, Jaco Ahlers 72 67, Dayne Moore (ZAM) 72 67
140 - Lyle Rowe 69 71, Jean Hugo 73 67, Tyrone Ferreira 71 69, Mark Williams (ZIM) 70 70, Roberto Lupini 73 67, Dongkwan Kim (KOR) 70 70, Callie Swart 73 67
141 - Andre Cruse 69 72, Steven Ferreira 71 70, Charl Coetzee 70 71, Dylan Frittelli 72 69, Gert Myburgh 70 71, Michiel Bothma 74 67, Anthony Michael 70 71, JJ Senekal 70 71, Rhys West 68 73, Rourke van der Spuy 72 69, Ryan Tipping 69 72, Tyrone Ryan 72 69, MJ Viljoen 73 68
142 - Hennie du Plessis 70 72, Mark Fensham 74 68, Ulrich van den Berg 69 73, Jared Harvey 70 72, Andrew Curlewis 70 72, Neil Schietekat 71 71, Ruan de Smidt 75 67, Russel Franz 75 67, Stuart Smith (BOT) 71 71, Chris Swanepoel 73 69, Le Roux Ferreira 74 68
Missed the cut:
143 - Alex Haindl 73 70, Desvonde Botes 72 71, Merrick Bremner 76 67, Mark Murless 71 72, Etienne Bond 72 71, Stephen Ferreira (POR) 72 71
144 - Jacques de Villiers 71 73, Breyten Meyer 74 70, Michael Hollick 71 73, Kevin Rundle 72 72, Daniel Hammond 72 72, Henry Featherstone (ENG) 70 74, Wynand Dingle 73 71, Callum Mowat 77 67, Trevor Mahoney 74 70
145 - Jeff Inglis (ENG) 74 71, Divan van den Heever 69 76, Otto van Greunen 74 71, CJ du Plessis 73 72, Makhetha Mazibuko 73 72, Justin Turner 73 72, Bradford Vaughan 76 69, Grant Muller 72 73, Ryan Cairns (ZIM) 69 76
146 - John Bele 75 71, Thanda Mavundla 76 70, Louis Calitz 75 71, Drikus van der Walt 73 73, Jacquin Hess 74 72
147 - Peter Karmis 72 75, Lindani Ndwandwe 72 75, Morne Buys 75 72, Dwayne Basson 76 71
148 - Werner van Niekerk 74 74, Maritz Wessels 73 75, Bryce Bibby 75 73, Jaco Prinsloo 75 73, Colin Nel 75 73, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 74 74, Calvin Caldeira 74 74
149 - Derik Ferreira 73 76, Jake Redman 78 71, Lean Boezaart 74 75, Burger Heckroodt 72 77
150 - Thabang Simon 76 74, Allan Versfeld 79 71, Werner Kapp 77 73, TJ Bekker 75 75, Brett Liddle 72 78
151 - Tyron Roelofsz 80 71, Pieter Moolman 74 77, Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN) 76 75, Arthur Horne (SWZ) 76 75, Teboho Sefatsa 76 75, Andrew Odoh (NGA) 78 73, Greg Bentley (ZIM) 80 71, Derick Petersen 77 74, Ruan Huysamen (NAM) 80 71
152 - Eddie Taylor 81 71, Terence Salo 78 74
153 - Attie Schwartzel 73 80, Wayne De Haas 77 76, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu (ZIM) 75 78
154 - Antonio Rosado (POR) 78 76, Roy Da Costa (POR) 82 72, Gift Willy(NGA) 75 79
155 - Juan Langeveld 77 78
156 - Stef Visage 78 78