Alpheus takes the lead at Vusi
Alpheus Kelapile took charge of the 50-man field at Observatory Golf Club when he shot 68 on Thursday and took a one-stroke lead ahead of the final round of Vusi Ngubeni Qualifying School.
“My aim is to win this. I put a lot of time into my game throughout the year – exercising, eating properly and practicing – preparing myself for next season,” he said.
It was a strange coincidence that his playing partners – Thabo Maseko and Rocky Tlhabanyane – finished one stroke back and in a share of second, ensuring that the trio will tee off together in the final round on Friday.
Kelapile’s dedication paid off on Friday and he said: “I was hitting the ball nicely, my game is on form and I played well today. The greens are running smooth and are quite fast, so today I made a lot of putts.”
He pulled clear with a string of four birdies on the back stretch. “The round kicked off at the 13th – I never looked back – I told myself that there were more birdies to come and the putts just kept dropping,” he said.
His front stretch was not shabby either: by the time he turned at two-under he had already overcome a bogey at the 1st by carding birdies at the 5th, 7th and 9th.
His back stretch began and ended with bogeys, which came at the 12th and 18th, but the drops were easily outweighed by his four-birdie spree.
Rocky Tlhabanyane announced his intention to succeed when he shot 67 and moved to seven-under. He joined amateur Thabo Maseko, who shot 68, in a share of second as the final 18 loomed.
Kelapile spent the year preparing to take on the 2012 Sunshine Tour season, and his readiness showed when he took charge of the competition on Thursday.
SCORES
208 - Alpheus Kelapile 70 70 68
209 - Rocky Tlhabanyane 69 73 67, Thabo Maseko (AMA) 70 71 68
210 - Irvin Mazibuko 71 69 70
211 - Jack Kutumane 71 71 69
212 - Allister de Kock (AMA) 73 65 74
213 - Makgetha Mazibuko 74 73 66, John Bele 75 68 70
214 - Elvis Sithebe (AMA) 74 74 66, Neo Thubisi 74 70 70
215 - Michael Dreyer 69 69 77
216 - Vickesh Singh 69 73 74
217 - Thanda Mavundla 73 74 70, George Brown 74 72 71
218 - Sung-Moon Hohng (KOR) (AMA) 78 70 70, Mikhail Tewary 73 73 72, Gerrit Foster 73 73 72
220 - Tsietsi Chabangu 75 73 72, Warren Holland 78 69 73, Kenneth Dube 71 72 77
221 - Ben Jonas 75 76 70
222 - Albert Tsai 74 75 73, Zuko Sangqu 78 71 73, Sammy Daniels 77 73 72, Reginald Greenhead (AMA) 77 74 71
223 - Trevor Mahoney 77 77 69
224 - Kerwin Marais 77 70 77, Yubin Jung (AMA) 76 79 69
225 - Malebana Pataki (AMA) 74 74 77, Shaun Sauls (AMA) 79 73 73
226 - Zwelakhe Dube 76 75 75, Mzwane Sithole 76 71 79, Sbu Nhlapho (AMA) 74 73 79, Leon Naidoo (AMA) 75 77 74, Cameron Esau 76 76 74, Wandile Gininda 80 74 72, Ashwin Krishen (AMA) 73 82 71
227 - Brian October (AMA) 79 71 77, Lebo Ramukosi 79 77 71
228 - Tumo Motaung (AMA) 79 77 72
229 - Jeff Mnisi (AMA) 74 78 77, Jastice Mashego (AMA) 76 79 74
230 - Makhosonke Mlotshwa 74 81 75, Jason Koeries (AMA) 78 78 74
231 - Joseph Mojapela 80 71 80, Matt Photolo 75 77 79
232 - Kyle Thomas (AMA) 77 73 82, Marks Bodibe 74 77 81, Joseph Mohulatsi 75 76 81
233 - Dees Nair 77 77 79
Report Day 1
Report Day 2