JOHANNESBURG : Thriston Lawrence kept himself in the hunt for a second MENA Golf Tour victory when he fired a neat five-under 66 to lie just one shot off the pace going into the final round of the South to East Challenge at Zwartkop Golf Club in Centurion, Pretoria, on Wednesday.
The 2015 MENA Tour Order of Merit winner, three behind at the start of the day, began strongly with a birdie on the first and barely took his foot off the pedal all day as he joined his fellow South African Bryce Easton in a tie for second on eight under.
Overnight co-leader Bryandrew Roelofsz of South Africa backed up his opening 66 with a 68 to stay atop the summit of a congested leaderboard on nine-under-par in this first MENA Golf Tour event in South Africa, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Big Easy Tour.
England’s Haydn McCullen, who shared the opening day’s honors with Roelofsz, settled for a 73, slipping to tied ninth on four under, a good three shots behind the South African duo of Greg Bentley and CJ du Plessis who shared fourth on seven-under.
“Winning here would mean a lot as I have missed three events on the MENA Tour this season. I was well placed on the order of merit in the beginning of the year – so a win will obviously be nice and get me back on track,” said Lawrence.
An early morning start tested players at Zwartkop Golf Club, however Lawrence adapted well, making six birdies against just one bogey.
“Yeah I started off nicely with a birdie and that helped. After that it was just solid play hitting greens in regulation,” said the 19-year-old South African, who broke through on the MENA Golf Tour with a victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic last year.
“In the mornings you have to stay patient. You know the grass is really wet and the greens are tricky. If you short side yourself you’re not going to have a good chance of making an up and down. You have to plan your game correctly around here and hit the ball in the right spots.”
Roelofsz’s one-stroke lead comes thanks to a gutsy birdie on the par-four ninth hole — his last hole of the day.
“Finishing with a birdie is always nice – especially from where I was. I was quite fortunate to pull it off. It was either going to be a freshy or I was going to hit the perfect shot. Luckily it worked out for me and it was a good finish. I’m happy with the 68,” said Roelofsz.
Elsewhere, Chile’s Antonio Costa, fresh off his win at the MahaSamutr Masters in Thailand last month, carded a 69 to share 18th on two-under, one ahead of a group which included MENA Golf Tour regulars Aaron Leitmannstetter, Luke Joy and Lee Corfield.
The cut was made at one over 143 with 56 players making it into the final round.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St. Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are some of the added incentives for the MENA Golf Tour members.
The 2015 MENA Tour Order of Merit winner, three behind at the start of the day, began strongly with a birdie on the first and barely took his foot off the pedal all day as he joined his fellow South African Bryce Easton in a tie for second on eight under.
Overnight co-leader Bryandrew Roelofsz of South Africa backed up his opening 66 with a 68 to stay atop the summit of a congested leaderboard on nine-under-par in this first MENA Golf Tour event in South Africa, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Big Easy Tour.
England’s Haydn McCullen, who shared the opening day’s honors with Roelofsz, settled for a 73, slipping to tied ninth on four under, a good three shots behind the South African duo of Greg Bentley and CJ du Plessis who shared fourth on seven-under.
“Winning here would mean a lot as I have missed three events on the MENA Tour this season. I was well placed on the order of merit in the beginning of the year – so a win will obviously be nice and get me back on track,” said Lawrence.
An early morning start tested players at Zwartkop Golf Club, however Lawrence adapted well, making six birdies against just one bogey.
“Yeah I started off nicely with a birdie and that helped. After that it was just solid play hitting greens in regulation,” said the 19-year-old South African, who broke through on the MENA Golf Tour with a victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic last year.
“In the mornings you have to stay patient. You know the grass is really wet and the greens are tricky. If you short side yourself you’re not going to have a good chance of making an up and down. You have to plan your game correctly around here and hit the ball in the right spots.”
Roelofsz’s one-stroke lead comes thanks to a gutsy birdie on the par-four ninth hole — his last hole of the day.
“Finishing with a birdie is always nice – especially from where I was. I was quite fortunate to pull it off. It was either going to be a freshy or I was going to hit the perfect shot. Luckily it worked out for me and it was a good finish. I’m happy with the 68,” said Roelofsz.
Elsewhere, Chile’s Antonio Costa, fresh off his win at the MahaSamutr Masters in Thailand last month, carded a 69 to share 18th on two-under, one ahead of a group which included MENA Golf Tour regulars Aaron Leitmannstetter, Luke Joy and Lee Corfield.
The cut was made at one over 143 with 56 players making it into the final round.
An initiative of the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, the MENA Golf Tour was created in 2011 with the aim of developing golf in the region. It is affiliated to R&A, the worldwide golf governing body based in the home of golf, St. Andrews, and the Arab Golf Federation and enjoys the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status.
Multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy and the Maybank Championship Malaysia in addition to full playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Q-School for the leading three professionals are some of the added incentives for the MENA Golf Tour members.
