Amateur Nikhil Gopal birdied four of his last five holes to overturn a birdie-starved front nine and sign for a second-round five-under 67 which took his total to 12-under for a two-shot lead ahead of the final round of the IGT Chase #6 at Services Golf Club.
Leading overnight, Gopal’s second round started off steadily, giving nothing away as he made eight straight pars before making his first birdie of the round, on the par-five ninth. A bogey on the next hole took from those gains, but that drop was soon followed by a birdie, this time on the par-three 11th hole.
“I really played well on the front nine; hit it well from tee to green but I just couldn’t make any putts. Probably me just misreading the speeds,” said Gopal after his round which ensured he remained perched at the summit ahead of the start of the final round.
“I hit the ball nicely on the front nine, so I stayed patient. I played with Karabo (Mokoena) yesterday and he was so patient that he ended up turning in a good round yesterday so I just learned from that. So, I birdied 11 and on 12 I got unlucky, my birdie-putt horse-shoed around the hole and on 13, I hit mid-green and two-putted for par.
“On 14, I made a good birdie there and hit it to about three-feet, 16 misread the greens and made par. On 17, I made a good birdie and on the 18th, I hit it on for two and made a birdie there. So, I just played solid golf tee to green. I think I must have missed one or two greens today”
Two shots off the pace and with a real shot at victory tomorrow after a round-two 67, Dylan Kok occupies the second spot on the leaderboard and a further two-strokes off the lead, lies Danie van Niekerk and amateur Christiaan Maas, at eight-under for the tournament.
Lying fifth at seven-under-par is Casey Jarvis while Franklin Manchest, Ricky Hendler and Karabo Mokoena share sixth at six-under-par.
“Tomorrow, I’m just going to have to keep it the same as I did today,” added Gopal, “I played with the lead on Monday and I’m going to play with the lead again in the final round. It’s okay! I’m just going to go out there and do my best. As an amateur, I’m not trying to make a living out of this, so I will enjoy myself all the way.”
By Matthews Mfubu
