Daniel van Tonder
Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour
Daniel van Tonder has maintained his position at the top of the Royal Swazi Open leaderboard, and is on track for his fourth Sunshine Tour victory in his last six starts.
Van Tonder added 12 points to his opening 15 (this tournament uses a modified stableford scoring system) to head the field on 27 points through two rounds at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday.
His nearest challengers are Neil Schietekat and Oliver Bekker on 17 points. JC Ritchie is currently fourth on 16 points.
Van Tonder was once again in dominant form and clearly enjoying a Gary Player Country Club course that is in impeccable condition for this 50th anniversary of a tournament with a list of past champions including Dale Hayes, John Bland, Mark McNulty, John Daly and Ernie Els.
“I wasn’t even thinking about leading the tournament. I was just focused on going out there and making as many birdies and eagles as I can,” said Van Tonder, who signed for a second round of five birdies, one eagle and three bogeys.
“Leading just comes with the territory. If you make birdies and eagles and keep the bogeys off your scorecard, then the lead comes on its own. You don’t need to think about it.
“The greens were a bit faster today. I had a three-putt today where I thought I actually hit a good putt, but it just didn’t stop rolling. But the course is playing great. The wind was a bit tricky and it was swirling out there, but overall I’m happy.”
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