(Reuters) – Swede Jesper Svensson overcame a stumble on his back nine to card a five under-par 67 and claim a one-shot lead after the second round of the South African Open Championship at the Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate in Johannesburg on Friday.
Svensson, 27, started the day three shots behind compatriot Joakim Lagergren but a birdie blitz on his front nine had him turn at five under-par for the round.
Two bogies stunted his momentum, but Svensson recovered to finish his second round on nine under-par for the tournament.
That is one shot ahead of Lagergren (71), South African Casey Jarvis (70) and Italian Matteo Manassero (68), who share second place, with three players a further shot back.
That includes South African Ryan van Zelzen, who shot the low round of the day with a faultless 65 at the Gary Player-designed 8,233-yard course, which holds the record for being the longest on the DP World Tour.
Svensson has yet to win on the tour and with three shots separating the top 12 players on the leaderboard, there is a long way to go.
For overnight leader Lagergren it was a day of disappointment as he was let down by his putter.
“I played well today, I just didn’t manage to get a score. It is very frustrating,” Lagergren said. “I need to step up now, I can’t putt like I did today (at the weekend), they just didn’t drop.
“I felt like I hit them well, it was just one of those days.”
Home golfer Jacques Blaauw landed a hole-in-one at the 233-yard par-three 11th, but it proved a rare highlight in a round of 74 that saw him miss the cut.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Davis)
