Waring into lead at Joburg Open
PLAY STOPPED: TOO DARK FOR SOME TO FINISH ROUNDS
Dean Burmester was the man everyone was watching as he stormed up the leaderboard in the second round of the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club late yesterday afternoon, but it was unheralded Englishman Paul Waring who snuck through and had claimed the lead when darkness caused play to be called off with 71 golfers still to complete their rounds.
South African Darren Fichardt had set the early pace as he produced a great round of 66 on the East Course to climb to 11-under-par overall, a figure which compatriot Burmester matched with a run of four successive birdies from the eighth hole.
But Waring, whose career has been badly set back by back problems, added to his sizzling 65 on the East Course on the first day by picking up five birdies on the West Course, three of them in succession around the turn, putting him one shot ahead when play was stopped.
Burmester has just three holes left to play and Waring has six.
Fichardt was a tired man having been up since 4am to finish the last six holes of his weather-interrupted first round and then having to tackle the long, testing East Course.
“I need some sleep! It’s my seventh week playing in a row and there seem to have been delays every week, it takes its toll. The East is really long and wet, it’s quite tricky, so I’m just going to have to pace myself. You’ve just got to try and hit fairways and greens and you can’t miss the greens because it’s very wet around them too,” Fichardt said.
Another South African, Jacques Kruyswijk, also hit the top of the leaderboard, with an eagle on the East Course’s first hole and then a run of four birdies in six holes from the eighth. But successive bogeys on 15 and 16 left him on 10-under-par overall, having built a touch on the impressive 63 he hit in the first round on the West Course.
It was a good day too for defending champion Haydn Porteous, who shot a 67 on the West Course to be handily placed midway through the tournament on nineunder-par, three off the lead.
“Apart from being so wet ou there, it was a pretty decent if long day. I managed to secure a decent score [67] on the East Course in the morning and then had another bogey-free round this afternoon, it was good to free up a bit on the West Course, but unfortunately my putter was a bit cold,” Porteous said.