Konig claims top spot ahead of final round in Soweto

England’s Harry Konig will take a slim one-stroke lead into the final round of the seventh tournament of the Betway Big Easy Tour held at Soweto Country Club.

This is after Konig carded a second-round 70 on Wednesday to back up his opening 67, for a one-shot lead over Jaden Deltel. Konig started his second round with six straight pars but dropped a shot on the seventh. He bounced back from that setback with a birdie to keep things level before the turn. He found joy on the 10th, birdieing that hole before making an important par-save on the 11th.

Konig maintained momentum with a brace of birdies on 12 and 13 but went on to give a shot back on the 15th as he made his second drop of the round. He finished with three straight pars for a score of two-under 70, taking his total to seven-under for the tournament.

“Solid day today,” he said after a testing outing in South Africa’s most iconic township. “I played really well yesterday, and I played pretty well again today. I missed a few chances, but overall, I'm very happy with my first two days so far.

“I’ve struggled here the last couple of years. So, I just pumped driver pretty much everywhere today; I tried to get as close to the greens as possible. Obviously, the course is playing very firm; it’s windy. So, yeah, just tried to get to as close to the greens as possible, and if I’m in a bad spot, you can get it on and around the greens anyway. Keeping it on the right side of the flags was key.”

Konig is on the chase for his second title of the season, having claimed the Glenvista leg earlier in the season. An experienced campaigner on this circuit already, Konig is fully aware of the challenge that lies before him as he seeks to make it two wins this season.

“It will be awesome to get a second win in the last couple of months,” he noted. “But there’s a lot of golf still to go, but I’m looking forward to the battle and hopefully, I’ll be up to the task.”

His closest challenger, Deltel, will feel he has a real chance at claiming his maiden victory on this Sunshine Tour development tour. Deltel narrowly missed out on a win in the season-opening tournament at Dainfern Golf Estate and, trailing by just a single shot going into Thursday’s final round in Soweto, the young Deltel has a shot at redemption this week.

“It feels great to be in contention,” said Deltel, who plays out of Bryanston Country Club. “It’s a privilege to be in this position, and I definitely love these moments. I’m just grateful for the opportunities, and I’m looking forward to enjoying every moment out there.”

Wandre Snyman and veteran Brandon Pieters share third on five-under while Joe Sullivan, Dillon Germishuys and American Austin Cherichella are a further shot back.

The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els, among other patrons.

Scores

137 - Harry Konig 67 70

138 - Jaden Deltel 66 72

139 - Wandre Snyman 72 67, Brandon Pieters 70 69

140 - Joe Sullivan 69 71, Austin Cherichella 67 73, Dillon Germshuys 68 72

142 - Hannes Strooh 74 68, Travis Procter 69 73

143 - Brandon Gildenhuys 76 67, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 71 72, Jan-Hendrik Nieuwoudt 73 70, Trevor Mahoney 70 73, Oliver Goldhill 72 71

144 - Jacques Van der Merwe 74 70, Kian Rose 71 73, Jastice Mashego 71 73

145 - Jonathan Ackerman 72 73, Irvin Mosate wa Mazibuko 69 76, Daniel Cronje 69 76, Carl Mwale 70 75, Travis Ladner 71 74, Shaunak Rama 72 73

146 - Ryan Tipping 72 74, Hayden Garcia 75 71, Philip Geerts 72 74, Makhetha Mazibuko 71 75, Andre De Decker 70 76, Kian Coetzer 72 74, Alphius Kelapile 73 73, Sean Howell 71 75

Missed the cut:-

147 - Leon Visser 74 73, LB Boshoff 73 74, Matt Millar 73 74, Gary Kemp 79 68, Brandon-Jude Rennie 73 74, Thabang Simon 77 70, Mike Maile 73 74, M-Jay Xaba 74 73, Andrew McLardy 76 71

148 - Jabulane Mabilane 76 72, Jason Froneman 72 76, Haydn Driver 73 75, Keelan Africa 76 72, Josh Hirsch 71 77

149 - Jarryd Govender 77 72, Khaya Jika 72 77, Evance Vukeya 72 77

150 - Teboho Sefatsa 74 76, Wade Jacobs 75 75, Keagan Crosbie 73 77, Steven Le Roux 78 72, Slenda Sithebe 74 76, Allister de Kock 73 77, Tumelo Molloyi 73 77, Tawriq Abrahams 75 75, Matthew Rushton 69 81, Tiago Jorge Swart 74 76, Adam Breen 75 75, Vaughn van Deventer 76 74

151 - Sipho Bujela 76 75, John Bele 74 77, Andre Van Zyl 75 76, Liam Ross 75 76, Kayle Wykes 77 74, Lyle Pedro 76 75, Drikus Joubert 71 80

152 - Louis Liebenberg 74 78, Tiger Adams 75 77

153 - Therion Nel 77 76, Reece Mc Kain 78 75, Matthew Dennis 79 74

154 - Mark Maart 76 78, Austin Mashego 74 80, David Amm 76 78, Shaheed Patel 79 75

155 - Kael Strydom 75 80, Ricco Motsa 78 77, John Palm 76 79

156 - Regan Steyn 80 76

157 - Chandler Shaw 78 79

158 - Khanya Mkhize 80 78

161 - Sandy Makume 77 84

167 - Njabulo Mlotshwa 83 84

169 - Thabo Moraba 83 86

170 - Eric Sithole 86 84

RTD - Richard Joubert 76 RTD