Centurion - South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence opened up a two-shot lead with a second round five-under 67 in the SA Open at Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate in Johannesburg on Friday.
Lawrence finds himself on 13-under (64 67) heading into the weekend, ahead of countryman Ockie Strydom (70 63) on 11-under. Strydom’s second round nine-under 63 set a new course record, which had been held for one day by Strydom. Play on day two was suspended at 3.09pm due to lightning, and it’s unlikely there will be further play on Friday.
France’s Clement Sordet and local amateur Christiaan Maas share third on 10-under.
Lawrence, the 2021 DP World Tour Rookie of the Year, is one of the longer hitters in the field. While Blair Atholl is one of the longest courses in the world, its defences are weakened by generously large fairways which play into the hands of players like Lawrence.
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“It’s quite a forgiving course off the tee for me. My driver is probably the best club in my bag so I’ve just been giving myself a lot of chances out there. I lost a bit of momentum on nine and 10, but I managed to make a few long putts at the end,” said Lawrence.
“My father gave me a putting tip last week as I’d been putting terribly the last few weeks. Credit to him, that definitely helped. It also helps when you make a few putts early in the tournament with your confidence.
“It’s a lot less pressure if you’ve already won, so I think I’m very comfortable with my game at the moment and I’m just enjoying it.”
Lawrence had two bogeys and one birdie in his first four holes to get his round off to a shaky start. However, he quickly steadied the ship with four birdies in the next five holes to make the turn in three-under. Two birdies on a blemish-free back nine saw him complete an impressive first 36 holes.