Share

Kruger birdie-blitz takes control at Sun City

Sun City - Jbe' Kruger says he found something at the range this morning and whatever he found worked wonders as the reigning Sun Carnival City champion signed for a birdie-laden eight-under-par 64 in the second round of the Sun City Challenge.

"I found something on the range this morning which made me swing a little bit freer," he said after admitting that he has not been playing well at all lately. "And, not being scared of the shots that you want to play, that was probably the key."

While he didn't equal or better the Gary Player Country Club course record 63 set by Sweden's Henrik Stenson in 2008 and Ernie Els six years earlier, Kruger's round was just as scintillating.

Starting from the 10th tee, Kruger made two birdies on the trot just to set the tone and make his intentions clear. A par later, he made three more birdies one after the other, before picking up a bogey on his ninth hole, the 18th of the golf course.

That drop didn't seem to bother the four-time Sunshine Tour winner because he swiftly brushed that mishap aside and went on another three-birdie run at the turn all the way through to the 12th.

Those birdies and the one he went on to make on the 15th sandwiched the two pars he picked up along the way, and, after making bogey on the par-three seventh, his 16th, another birdie found its way onto his card.

"From the range the confidence was already going," he said of his fast start to the second round.

"Because now I could swing freely, which I know I had a problem with the last few months."

That score took his total to five-under for the week and thus giving him a three-shot cushion ahead of the final round. 

A round like Kruger's, laden with 10 birdies on a golf course as tough as the Gary Player Country Club, is spectacular by any standard, and even more so when the closest challenger shoots level par.

That closest competitor was Louis de Jager. His was as eventful a round as Kruger's.

Six birdies on his round two scorecard were accompanied by a pair of double-drops and the same number of bogeys.

In a round where only six players shot below par, the two-under 70 that De Jager shot in round one proved enough to hand him the second spot on the leaderboard.

Justin Harding, Wallie Coetsee, Neil Schietekat and Ulrich van den Berg all share the third position on one-under but of all four players, it was Van den Berg who shot a score below par, a 71 in round two. Schietekat and Coetsee both signed for a level-par round while Harding finished two-over-par.

Members of the Gary Player Class of 2018-19 Franklin Manchest is in a three-man tie for seventh, while Jacquin Hess and Heinrich Bruiners share 10th with Merrick Bremner and Ockie Strydom. 

Scores: 

139 - Jbe' Kruger 75 64

142 - Louis de Jager 70 72

143 - Justin Harding 69 74, Wallie Coetsee 71 72, Neil Schietekat 71 72, Ulrich van den Berg 72 71

145 - Stephen Ferreira 73 72, Franklin Manchest 73 72, Riekus Nortje 68 77

146 - Merrick Bremner 74 72, Heinrich Bruiners 72 74, Ockie Strydom 73 73, Jacquin Hess 76 70

147 - Titch Moore 73 74, JC Ritchie 71 76, Chris Cannon 76 71, Estiaan Conradie 69 78, Anton Haig 77 70, Vaughn Groenewald 75 72, Hennie Otto 75 72, Mark Williams 74 73, Doug McGuigan 72 75, Jean Hugo 76 71, Jake Redman 74 73

148 - Christiaan Basson 70 78, Jaco Prinsloo 73 75, Andre Nel 75 73, Callum Mowat 75 73, Jaco Ahlers 76 72

149 - Teboho Sefatsa 76 73, Combrinck Smit 79 70, Herman Loubser 73 76, JJ Senekal 72 77, Jade Buitendag 75 74, Desvonde Botes 74 75

150 - Keith Horne 76 74, MJ Viljoen 73 77, Andrew Curlewis 74 76, Fredrik From 73 77, Alex Haindl 75 75, Keenan Davidse 76 74, Philip Geerts 74 76, Jacques P de Villiers 76 74

Missed the cut:

151 - Allan Versfeld 77 74, Ryan Cairns 73 78, Rhys West 76 75, Jason Viljoen 74 77, Ruan de Smidt 78 73, Colin Nel 76 75, Louis Albertse 75 76, Irvin Mazibuko 79 72, Thabang Simon 78 73

152 - Chris Swanepoel 75 77, Toto Thimba 77 75, Andrew van der Knaap 77 75, Tyrone Ryan 81 71, Teaghan Gauche 80 72

153 - Thriston Lawrence 74 79, Andre De Decker 75 78, Marc Cayeux 72 81, Hennie du Plessis 77 76, James Kingston 77 76, Pieter Moolman 75 78, Luke Jerling 75 78, Derick Petersen 80 73, Peter Karmis 74 79, Roberto Lupini 79 74, Ryan Tipping 76 77, David McIntyre 74 79, Ruan Conradie 75 78

154 - CJ du Plessis 77 77, Jason Smith 80 74, Madalitso Muthiya 76 78, Jared Harvey 77 77, Breyten Meyer 79 75

155 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi 81 74, Damon Stephenson 76 79, Jean-Paul Strydom 77 78, Desne Van Den Bergh 80 75, Divan van den Heever 77 78, Theunis Bezuidenhout 79 76

156 - Bennie van der Merwe 76 80, Wayne Stroebel 80 76, Tyrone Ferreira 79 77, Marthin Scheepers 78 78

157 - Michael Hollick 75 82, Stefan Engell Andersen 82 75, Mark Murless 83 74, Aubrey Beckley 80 77

158 - Duane Keun 80 78, Yubin Jung 83 75, Luke Trocado 80 78, Omar Sandys 78 80, Basil Wright 76 82

159 - Allister de Kock 81 78

160 - Wynand Dingle 77 83, Michael Palmer 81 79, Michael Schutz 78 82

161 - Altaaf Bux 79 82, Sean Bradley 83 78, Rourke van der Spuy 81 80

162 - Erhard Lambrechts 78 84

164 - Makhetha Mazibuko 79 85

165 - N.J. Arnoldi 81 84, Coert Groenewald 80 85

WDN - Gert Myburgh 86 WDN

RTD - Matthew Carvell RTD RTD, Jason Froneman 81 RTD

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE