Share

Three-way tie for Fish River lead

Port Alfred – Toby Tree twice reeled off three birdies in succession on Thursday on his way to a second-round five-under-par 67 and into a three-way share of the lead of the R700,000 Fish River Sun Challenge at the Fish River Sun Hotel and Country Club.

He found his putting touch on the back nine, making five birdies and a bogey on the homeward stretch as he eased to the top of the leaderboard together with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and first-round leader Jason Viljoen.

“It was a good round today,” said Tree. “My putter got hot on the back nine. But I’ve made some of the worst drops this week I’ve ever seen. So it was a bit of up and down. I didn’t really get going till the ninth today. I was one under for the tournament, and then I made six birdies in the next eight holes.”

Having got his round going with an eagle-three on the fifth, he could have gone really low, but bogeys on six and eight killed off that early momentum – until the run of birdies. “Then I made another silly drop on the par-five 17th when I three-putted from 10 feet,” he said, “but five-under in the wind is a good score.”

Bezuidenhout was sailing along serenely at nine-under for the tournament until he reached the seven – his 16th after he had started on 10. He made a triple-bogey seven there to slip back into Tree’s clutches. “I hit my tee shot behind the 150-metre distance marker,” he said, “and they’re immovable obstructions. I tried to punch my second low beneath it, and my ball hit it and rebounded into the thick bush.”

For Viljoen, who is fresh off his triumph in the Big Easy Tour Championship, it was a day which confirmed that he belongs on the Sunshine Tour. “It was a slow start, maybe a bit of nerves,” he said. “I had to get some stuff out of the system on the first couple of holes, and after that, just keep on playing the way I have been.”

He is going to put it all on the line in the final round. “Tomorrow, I’m just going to come out here and make as many birdies as I can,” he said.

That’s the kind of thing that Tree will want to do, after being in contention in the last two tournaments and falling away somewhat. “The last round last week was poor,” he said. “I got off to a slow start and I struggled to get motivated, and I finished poorly. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see if I can get a win.”

Scores:

138 - Toby Tree 71 67, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 69 69, Jason Viljoen 67 71

139 - Titch Moore 69 70

140 - Colin Nel 71 69, Jonathan Agren 70 70, Wallie Coetsee 72 68, Danie van Tonder 72 68

141 - Louis de Jager 75 66, Callum Mowat 73 68, JC Ritchie 70 71, Doug McGuigan 70 71, Justin Harding 73 68

142 - Steven Ferreira 68 74, Madalitso Muthiya 73 69, CJ du Plessis 72 70, Jacquin Hess 70 72, Pieter Kruger 70 72, Ruan de Smidt 70 72

143 - Allister de Kock 73 70, Tyrone Ferreira 72 71, Mark Williams 72 71, PH McIntyre 71 72, Jake Roos 72 71, Christiaan Basson 71 72, Jared Harvey 74 69, Peter Karmis 72 71, Derick Petersen 73 70

144 - Stefan Engell Andersen 74 70, Francois van Vuuren 71 73, Neil Schietekat 71 73, Rourke van der Spuy 75 69, Michael Palmer 78 66

145 - Steve Surry 80 65, Tyrone Ryan 75 70, Anthony Michael 72 73, Ulrich van den Berg 75 70, Trevor Mahoney 69 76, Oliver Bekker 70 75, Teboho Sefatsa 72 73, Vaughn Groenewald 73 72, Charl Coetzee 70 75

Missed the cut:-

146 - Andrew Odoh 76 70, Thanda Mavundla 71 75, Keenan Davidse 78 68, Mark Fensham 72 74, Bryce Bibby 71 75

147 - Ruan Huysamen 73 74, Makhetha Mazibuko 74 73, Ryan Cairns 73 74, Le Roux Ferreira 77 70, Jacques P de Villiers 74 73, Garth Mulroy 73 74, Roux Jeffery 72 75

148 - Matthew Carvell 74 74, Lyle Rowe 75 73, Theunis Spangenberg 76 72, Breyten Meyer 74 74, MJ Viljoen 77 71, Calvin Pearson 71 77, Teaghan Gauche 74 74, Michael Hollick 75 73, Rhys West 78 70, Stuart Smith 76 72

149 - Lindani Ndwandwe 75 74, Andrew Georgiou 74 75, Joe Nawanga 76 73, Gert Myburgh 73 76

150 - Stephen Ferreira 77 73, Jake Redman 74 76, Jeff Hopkins 73 77

151 - Andrew Curlewis 76 75, Jason Diab 78 73, Mark Murless 75 76

152 - Robert Braithwaite 76 76, Drikus Bruyns 77 75

153 - James Kamte 80 73, Merrick Bremner 76 77, Dwayne Basson 76 77

154 - Ryan Tipping 85 69, Heinrich Bruiners 78 76, JJ Senekal 81 73

155 - Greg Bentley 78 77

156 - Jason Froneman 78 78, Neal Herman 80 76, Chris Swanepoel 74 82

157 - Werner van Niekerk 78 79, Dayne Moore 76 81, Jaco Prinsloo 79 78, Andre Cruse 77 80, Tyrone Mordt 79 78

158 - Mikhail Tewary 79 79

159 - Ooko Erick Obura 79 80, Russel Franz 79 80

160 - Shane Granger 78 82

165 - Joe Dludlu 82 83

167 - Nemanja Savic 88 79

RTD - Alex Haindl 

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!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 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