Schwartzel leads at Leopard Creek

Malelane – Charl Schwartzel finished his second round on Friday with a 15-footer for birdie on the ninth at Leopard Creek to card a five-under-par 67 and move into a five-stroke lead at 11-under-par at the halfway stage in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

That putt underlined his dominance over the field, especially over the stretch of holes from seven to nine, and the four players on six-under – two-time champion Pablo Martin Benavides of Spain, 2008 champion Richard Sterne, Frenchman Benjamin Hebert and Joost Luiten of the Netherlands – will know they have to produce a weekend’s worth of low scoring to overturn the 2011 Masters champion’s lead.

“Man, it was nice to make that sort of putt,” said Schwartzel.

“The pin was very difficult to get at, so I was always going to have to make a 15-footer for birdie. I haven’t made many of them for a long time.”

Scores:

133 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 66 67

138 - Pablo Martin Benavides (ESP) 69 69, Richard Sterne (RSA) 68 70, Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 68 70, Joost Luiten (NED) 68 70

139 - Eddie Pepperell (ENG) 74 65, Mark Williams (ZIM) 67 72, Jason Scrivener (AUS) 69 70

140 - Ben Evans (ENG) 71 69, Thomas Aiken (RSA) 72 68, David Drysdale (SCO) 71 69, Christiaan Basson (RSA) 64 76,Shaun Norris (RSA) 70 70