Michael Vlismas
Tyrone Ryan held onto his lead in the Blu Label Unlimited Challenge but after a somewhat tougher second round in which he added seven points to climb to 29 points overall.
Ryan played the Lost City Golf Club on Thursday and had to work harder for his lead than his opening 22 points over the Gary Player Country Club course.
“It was a tricky day out there with the wind. I couldn’t come to grips with the wind, so that was tough,” he said. “Between the pin positions and the wind, I struggled to have standard shots. I had a lot of awkward yardages. It was a battle out there today, but I kept it together.”
It opened the door for second-placed Yurav Premlall to close the gap to just five points. Hennie du Plessis, who continues to impress on his comeback from injury, shares third place with Anthony Michael on 23 points.
Premlall played the Gary Player Country Club course on Thursday and made 13 points on a golf course where he has fond memories, having won the Nedbank Junior Challenge there while still an amateur and also the Freddie Tait Cup for the leading amateur in the 2021 SA Open.
He clearly felt at home as he picked up the most points at the Gary Player Country Club on day two.
“It’s one of my favourite events and venues for the year, and I always look forward to coming back to play this event,” Premlall said.
“The golf courses are really nice. It’s a lot softer compared to last year, so it’s easier to make birdies. I just need to keep on doing what I am doing. The format is really cool — it rewards you for making birdies, so I’m going to have to make a lot of them. I am looking forward to what the next two days will bring.”
Du Plessis, meanwhile, has been enjoying his return to competitive golf following injury.
“I played with zero expectations and just came here to see where my game is at, and I’m very happy,” he said. “I’m in the mix, so I’ll keep my foot on the pedal. I’m still trying to win a tournament, and I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t think my game was ready to compete with these guys.”
Another highlight of Thursday’s second round was a hole-in-one. Deon Germishuys aced the 155-metre par-three 16th with a 7 iron, earning himself 50,000 Skybucks from Airlink in the process.
