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Consecutive 66s sees Jaco in front again
After a front nine blitz of five-under par, overnight joint leader Jaco van Zyl was able to settle back as he cruised into a one-stroke lead after day two at the Telkom PGA Pro-Am in Centurion.
Starting the day at six-under par, van Zyl got going early with a birdie at the first before reeling off two more at the fourth and fifth holes. An eagle at the seventh then put him well ahead of the pack as he closed off his first nine with two pars.
The back nine was less exciting as he missed a four-foot putt on the 10th for birdie but quickly made up for it on the short next hole with a two there.
Then, by no fault of his own, it all seemed to come to a halt and he glided through the next seven holes without any blemishes or rewards to leave him at 12-under par for the tournament and one shot ahead of Brazilian Adilson da Silva.
“It was a little bit tougher today as it was really breezy,” said Van Zyl. “There was a lot of poa annua on the greens on the back nine so it was a lot tougher to make putts.”
With van Zyl’s vast experience on the tour and the fact that he won here last year and finished second the year before, he was able to make light work of the course despite the conditions.
“I got off to a great start today with my birdie on the first, but things slowed down from about the eighth and I let a lot of opportunities slip”
OMINOUS WARNING
When asked about his game plan for Friday’s final round, he let out an ominous warning to the rest of the field once more. “Obviously we are going to be playing a lot earlier which makes it more receptive and easier to fire at targets, so I think it will be a lot like yesterday.”
Da Silva, starting on the 10th tee, was more than happy with his five-under par 67 especially after suffering with serious hay fever and playing his first nine holes level par without a bogey or birdie.
“I had a good day on the greens again,” he said. “I think I had thirty putts, where in the first nine I didn’t hole anything and literally two-putted every green.”
He then only needed 12 putts on his second nine when he reeled off four consecutive birdies from the fourth hole onwards.
“I hit the ball a lot closer on the front nine and had a lot of one-putts, so all-around I hit the ball pretty solid today.”
He will be teeing off with Van Zyl in the final group tomorrow in what looks to be an exciting matchplay scenario between last year’s champion and last week’s champion.
Trevor Fisher Jnr and Jbe Kruger sit a further two shots behind da Silva after rounds of 66 and 68 respectively.
