South African rookie Ruan de Smidt fired a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 to share the halfway lead of the R1,5 million Golden Pilsener Zimbabwe Open with his compatriot Trevor Fisher (Jr) at Royal Harare Golf Club yesterday.
The 22-year-old Smidt and Fisher, who had both fired identical rounds of one-under-par 70 on the opening day on Thursday, rallied back with an impressive 65 for a par total nine-under 135.
Yesterday’s performance was particularly special for Smidt, who managed to secure the first 36-hole lead in his short Sunshine Tour career so far.
“This is a very different feeling for me. It’s the first tournament where I’m into contention as a pro and I’ve never been up there, so we’ll have to see how it goes this weekend,” he said.
“Things worked for me on the back nine. I just hit it really solid,” said De Smidt. “I hit it close and made 16 greens today, so I was striking it well. Putting wasn’t bad, made a couple, so it helps.”
De Smidt said he was not going to let his lead slip: “I’m just going to try and hit as many greens as I can, make a couple of putts and hopefully pull it off. I’m just going to try to finish in the top 10, but a win will be great, so I’m going to stick to what I’ve been doing now.”
Four-time Sunshine Tour winner, Fisher, who shares the halfway lead at nine-under, set the benchmark with a superb seven-under-par 65 on day two early in the day.
Overnight leader Albert Pistorius, who fired a seven-under-par 66 in the opening round on Thursday, yesterday fired a two-under par 70 to finish in second place.
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A total of seven Zimbabweans made the cut of two-over par for the top 65 players including ties in what was a disappointing day for local golfers. Cape Town-based professional Ryan Cairns was the highest placed Zimbabwean after firing a level par 72 to finish on two-under 142.
Other locals who were also expected to make the cut include Tongo Charamba and Shane Pringle — who were on level par — Mohammad Mandhu and Micky Hough on one-over-par and Robson Saurombe and Jason Jackson on two-over-par. The biggest disappointment came from the in-form par of US-based Bruce McDonald and Ignatius Mketekete, who finished as the highest placed locals in last year’s tournament. The pair finished on one-four- over-par 78.
