Frenchman David Ravetto birdied the last for an impressive 66 on a day dominated by wind and rain to lead the Dimension Data Pro-Am by a single stroke going into the weekend at Fancourt.
Ravetto used every bit of the good fortune the draw allowed him in playing the more forgiving Outeniqua course on an incredibly challenging day as he climbed to 10 under par overall.
“It was a good day under the conditions. I’m really happy. I had a good draw playing Outeniqua but I still played really solid golf. I made six birdies and an eagle so it was a really nice round,” he said.
His nearest challenger is South Africa’s Louis Albertse on nine under following a 66 of his own on the Outeniqua.
And countryman Zander Lombard has positioned himself very well as he heads into the weekend just two shots off the lead – alongside Frenchman Pierre Pineau – after also posting a 66 on the Outeniqua.
“It was super tough out there. I think the gusts were up to 70km/h at least and it was absolutely pouring down. The rain sort of came and went but when it came, all of it was coming. It was brutal, and all-in-all in these conditions I’m very happy with my score. I’m happy with my game, the confidence is up, I’ve got no weaknesses so hopefully I can carry it into the weekend,” said Lombard.
The weather and the deluge of rain that fell throughout the day made for a long round for some in the field, especially those who had to also contend with the challenging Links course in their second round as part of the tournament’s format to rotate between Fancourt’s three courses.
Bryce Easton, the leader by two after the first round, was one of those to suffer as he signed for an 80 on the Links to drop to two under par overall.
Defending champion Oliver Bekker suffered a similar score and fate on the Links, ending the day on two over for the tournament.
Knowing exactly what to expect, Ravetto had a simple strategy for his round.
“I knew the conditions were going to be tough so when I arrived I said to myself just hang in there because you’re playing the easier of the three courses here, so just try make a couple of birdies and you’ll be fine at the end of the day.
“There was water on the greens and the course was a lot softer, but it also enabled us to be a lot more aggressive to the pins. The course staff did a really good job of getting the water off the greens and it was actually pretty good conditions for putting.”
SCORES:
134 - David Ravetto 68 66
135 - Louis Albertse 69 66
136 - Zander Lombard 70 66, Pierre Pineau 70 66
137 - Sam Hutsby 72 65
138 - Robin Williams 70 68, Hennie du Plessis 67 72, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 70 68, Conor Purcell 71 67, Hamish Brown 68 70
140 - Anton Albers 68 72, Benjamin Follett-Smith 70 70, Jordan Gumberg 68 71, Chris Paisley 70 69
140 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 67 73, Martin Couvra 68 73, Luca Filippi 66 75, Franklin Manchest 70 70, Malcolm Mitchell 71 70, Kyle Barker 72 69
Michael Vlismas Media