Categories: Sport

Late eagle extends Van Tonder’s lead at Huddle Park

When Danie van Tonder’s 40-foot eagle putt fell on his last hole of the second round of the Vodacom Championship Reloaded at Huddle Park Golf Club on Thursday, it catapulted him from a narrow one-shot lead heading into the final round of the last Rise-Up Series event into a sizeable three-shot advantage.

Finishing on the par-five ninth hole, it was a magnificent way to end a round which up till then had been more solid than spectacular.

On a cooler day which meant Van Tonder could not bomb the ball quite as far, the hottest golfer in South Africa was four-under-par for his round, enough when combined with his superb 63 on the first day to take him to 13-under overall, one shot ahead of Jacques Blaauw.

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But the eagle saw him finish with a six-under-par 66, taking him out to 15-under for the tournament. Even for a man who operates as clinically as Van Tonder, it was a spectacular strike at just the right time.

“I hit a good drive and I had 175 to the pin, so I hit an eight-iron as hard as I can and it finished pin-high, but I was left with a 40-foot snake of a putt,” Van Tonder said after his round.

“I didn’t really think about my lead. Tomorrow (Friday) will just be another round in which I try and shoot less than 70. If I hit fairways and make putts for 18 holes then it will be like matchplay, and with pars and birdies it will be hard to beat me.

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“I just need to play the golf course and try to birdie everything I can. It’s easy, just grip it and hit it and trust yourself.”

Blaauw was able to hop up the leaderboard with an impressive five-under-par 67 and led for much of the day on 12-under before Van Tonder overtook him late in the day.

An excellent round with the putter meant the four-time Sunshine Tour winner was confident he could secure his first trophy since winning the Sishen Vodacom Origins event four years ago.

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“I’m working hard for the win and I can’t really point the finger at something in particular that is stopping me, but rolling in some putts today made a difference,” Blaauw said.

“I’m hitting the ball good and my caddy is reading the greens well. He just tells me where to hit it, so I’m confident and I just need to stick to what I know best. There’s a lot that could still happen.”

Promising rookie Malcolm Mitchell and veteran Adilson da Silva, who fired a brilliant bogey-free 64, were on 11-under and also had the potential to challenge Van Tonder as he went for his third Rise-Up Series title.

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Anton Haig shot the round of the day in the second round with a 63 that included two eagles, to go to 10-under, giving himself a chance of his first professional win  since 2013, along with Jaco Ahlers, who was clearly in good touch after back-to-back 67s, and Louis de Jager, who slipped back a bit with a 70 on day two.

Talented youngsters Clayton Mansfield (67), Gideon van der Vyver (64) and Ruan Korb (66) were also on 10-under.

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By Ken Borland
Read more on these topics: Golf