GOLFING NEWS - Kyle Barker will take a one shot lead into the final round of the Wingate Challenge, but he will have Pretoria rookie Paul Boshoff and amateur duo Michael Kok and JP Cooper in close pursuit as he bids for a second IGT Challenge Tour victory.
The 19-year-old Barker posted a one-under-par 71 at Wingate Park Country Club on Tuesday to move to six under par, with Boshoff hot on his heels after matching the Randpark rookie’s effort.
Boshoff briefly held outright lead after Barker dropped a shot at 15, but he reclaimed his overnight advantage with a birdie-birdie finish.
Cooper returned a 70 at his home course to finish three off the pace in joint third with Kok, who fired a 68 that featured a string of four successive birdies from the par three 14th.
All eyes will be on the last group on what is set to be a dramatic final day in Tshwane.
Barker has been in threatening form lately and a second IGT Challenge Tour victory is just 18 holes away for the GolfWorx player, but he knows he cannot get ahead of himself.
“Winning? Hopefully we can talk about it tomorrow,” said Barker.
“There are so many factors that could influence what happens in the final round, so there is no point talking about the what-ifs. The pin positions, the weather, the course set-up will all play a role. And everyone chasing me is good and have a chance to get past me.
“All I know is that I'm going to have to make some birdies to stay ahead of Paul. The key for tomorrow's round I hope not to make any bogeys and putt really well like what I’ve done in the last two days.”
Boshoff is certainly a serious contender.
The BDGA Academy golfer came close on two occasions last year and racked up successive second-place finishes during the business end of the Race to Q-School at State Mines and the Firethorn Course at Randpark in February.
He has only played once on the country’s premier golf development circuit since February but a tie for 12th at the Kyalami Challenge in April is a good indication that the work Boshoff is doing with coach Hendrik Buhrmann is starting to pay off.
“I took a little break after the Race to Q-School series to work on my swing,” said Boshoff.
“We are trying to train my body so the driver and the longer clubs don’t fall behind my body. I want the club and the clubface to stay square longer through the swing.
“I received an invite to play in Australia and it was nice to go and test the swing on foreign soil. I was very pleased that I made the cut, even if there is still some work to be done. I didn’t expect too much this week, so it’s a nice bonus that I get to play with Kyle in the final group on Wednesday.
“We’ve known each other for many years via the amateur circuit and we will drive one another. It should be a lot of fun.”
Meanwhile amateur Peetie van der Merwe birdied four of the last five holes to pocket R500 for the low round of the day with his 67, while Deon Bredenkamp went 14 shots better than his opening 82 with a 68 that featured an eagle two at the 10th and a hole-in-one at the par three 14th.
Second Round Scores
All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified and amateurs are indicated as AMA:
138 - Kyle Barker 67 71
139 - Paul Boshoff 68 71
141 - Michael Kok AMA 73 68, JP Cooper AMA 71 70
142 - Theunis Bezuidenhout AMA 73 69, Peetie van der Merwe AMA 75 67
143 - Pieter Moolman 72 71, Quintin Crause 74 69, Ruan Korb 69 74, Louis Albertse AMA 71 72
144 - Callum Mowat 73 71
145 - Phillip Kruse AMA 70 75, Dean Martin AMA 71 74
146 - Mpho Mafishe 75 71, Ivanna Samu 74 72, Leon Vorster AMA 71 75, Jan-Louis Nel AMA 75 71
147 - Matthew Vogel 70 77, Ruan Groenewald AMA 75 72
148 - David Mofokeng (LSO) 75 73, Eric Nel AMA 75 73, Logan Lockwood AMA (USA) 70 78
149 - Bryce Myburgh 75 74, Tertius van den Berg 75 74, Divan Marais 74 75, Marcus Smal AMA 75 74, Xander Basson AMA 77 72
150 - Ruhan van Dijk AMA 80 70, Deon Bredenkamp 82 68
151 - Albert Visser 80 71
152 - Haydn Driver AMA 79 73
153 - Tristan Brice AMA 74 79, Dylan Kok AMA 78 75, Etienne Janse Van Rensburg AMA 77 76
154 - Milton Maloon AMA 79 75, Thabi Ngcobo 76 78, Mae Cornforth 79 75, WM Coetzee AMA 79 75, Christopher de Beer AMA 79 75, Liam Cloete AMA 76 78, Arno Pretorius AMA 77 77, Patrick Thompson 76 78
155 - Keanu Pestana AMA 79 76, Angus Ellis-Cole AMA 76 79
156 - Alex Krebs AMA 75 81, Bradley Diggeden AMA 76 80, Cameron Gunning 76 80, Rudolph van de Venter AMA 81 75, Jaco Linde AMA 78 78
Missed the cut:-
157 - Duan Nagel AMA 81 76, Tudor Bismark (ZIM) 81 76
158 - Leon Visser AMA 75 83, Stephane van Neer AMA (COD) 80 78
159 - Reynhard Reynecke AMA 84 75, Sam Metcalfe AMA 81 78
160 - Eric Park (KOR) 81 79, Matthew Hands AMA 87 73
161 - Gareth Anderson AMA 82 79, Reinard Vermeulen AMA 81 80, Vusi Zungu AMA 81 80
162 - Herman Anderson AMA 79 83, Malachi Schulz AMA 81 81
166 - Selwyn Nathan AMA 85 81
167 - JP Schmidt AMA 84 83
170 - Dylan Morton AMA 90 80, Divan de Villiers AMA 85 85
175 - Jacques Snyman AMA (NAM) 88 87
182 - Divan van der Merwe AMA 96 86
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
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