Jbe' Kruger mentioned his playing wasn't as much as scratch on Friday, but he produced enough to carve out a four-stroke lead at the halfway mark in the €1-million Alfred Dunhill Championship. He overcame two early bogeys with the first four holes of his round to end up with a five-under-par 67, bringing him to 13-under-par 131 over the 6,665-metre (7,249-yard) Leopard Creek course, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour. His nearest challengers were Felipe Aguilar of Chile, Scotland’s George Murray, and England’s Seve Benson, who shared the immediate lead with him.
"The putts just don’t want to drop, believe it or not," Kruger said. "I’ve been hitting it near the last few days. On 15, 16 and 17 - I can’t figure how the putt on 15 missed, and on 17, the same thing." He absolutely started as though his game was going to be as hot as the temperature, as he hit his way to the 530-metre (580-yard) second right next to playing companion Shaun Norris’ ball 25 feet from the pin.
"I got the line from his putt," he laughed. "It’s not really easy, Nike Sasquatch Sumo2 5300 Driver, but it helps." He rode the great fortune from that eagle to negate the impact of the bogeys, and when he birdied six, his momentum returned. And the smile returned to his face with three birdies in a row from the 12th, and his closing on 18 cemented it there.
"I didn’t have fun with the earlier part of my round," he said, Callaway FT Hybrid, "but after I do have fun with the cheap golf clubs. I think you have to have fun; otherwise, why play? If you enjoy it, you always play better."
One person who didn’t have fun was George Coetzee, who placed a dent in his odds for winning the tournament with a double bogey-double bogey-bogey finish to his round, and he looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but at Leopard Creek. He struck his tee shot with the Callaway FT-iZ Driver into the water on 7 after he started his round at the 10th and had moved to 12-under-par with three holes to play.
His shot from the squirrel away zone on 7 was short, and he two-putted, then he duffed an easy chip from the fringe of the green following a good tee shot on his way to a double bogey on eight. Then he took two to get out of the greenside bunker on nine, and he slumped to a one-under 71 for the round.
But Aguilar was flawless on his way to his eight-under-par 64, the best round of the day. "It was a solid day. You never win a tournament in the first two days, but you can always lose it," he said. "As long as you place yourself into contention, then you are going to have a fun weekend."
In a tie for fifth place at eight-under for the tournament were Merrick Bremner and Jaco van Zyl. They each carded their second successive 68 with the R11 Driver. "You must work your way around here. You can’t be too aggressive; you must take chances when they come," Van Zyl said.
But the race is on to catch Kruger. And they all better hope his game doesn’t improve. "If I could get it going, Callaway FT-iz Fairway Wood, you never know," he said.
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