Van Der Merwe shoots 63 to pull three shots clear at CMR

Jacques Van Der Merwe will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the fifth Betway Big Easy Tour tournament, thanks to a second-round seven-under 63, which took his total to 12-under at CMR Golf Club.

On Wednesday, Van Der Merwe solidified his spot among the top players this week, waltzing to a sizzling 63, which consisted of nine birdies and two drops. Now, three shots clear and with a real shot at claiming his breakthrough win on this Sunshine Tour feeder circuit, Van Der Merwe remains grounded, instead choosing to focus on his processes.

“I don’t really care about the position that much,” declared Van der Merwe, who displayed a calm persona. “I enjoy this course, and I just want to go out and give it another shot. I want to go out and focus on my processes. I want to achieve the goals I have control over, and the rest will happen.”

The weather conditions were tough on Wednesday, with the wind picking up quite early on in the round, a factor that would affect even the best of professionals. Van Der Merwe embraced the challenge and played himself to the summit of the leaderboard.

“It’s basically the same as yesterday,” said Van Der Merwe of the windy and testing conditions in Roodepoort. “I just controlled what I could control and let the rest happen. I can’t get angry if I do all the process work well, which I did today. I just went back to that on every single shot and every hole, and it worked out well.

Jacques Van Der Merwe will take a three-stroke lead into the final round (-12), thanks to a brilliant round of 7-under 63 in round two at CMR.#GreatnessBeginsHere #BetwayBigEasyTour pic.twitter.com/UYBODPSbEc

— Big Easy Tour (@bigeasytourgolf) August 6, 2025

“The conditions were tough, but I enjoyed it; I handled it well. I just stuck to my plan and made a few nice putts, and walked off with a really nice score, so I’m happy with my round.”

Van der Merwe will seek to replicate the performances of the first 36 holes here because lurking dangerously is Kimberley Golf Club’s Bradley De Beer, whose 64 catapulted him to second on the leaderboard on a tournament total of nine-under-par.

A rejuvenated Haydn Porteous will go into the final round of this 54-hole event trailing by four after his second successive 66 took his total to eight-under.

Regan Steyn, Leon Visser, Liam Ross, Richard Joubert and Joe Sullivan share the fourth spot at six-under while Daniel Cronje, Khanya Mkhize, Drikus Joubert and Johnathan Ackerman share ninth at five-under for the week.

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

128 - Jacques Van der Merwe 65 63

131 - Bradley De Beer 67 64

132 - Haydn Porteous 66 66

134 - Leon Visser 69 65, Richard Joubert 66 68, Joe Sullivan 66 68, Liam Ross 66 68, Regan Steyn 66 68

135 - Daniel Cronje 70 65, Drikus Joubert 66 69, Khanya Mkhize 67 68, Johnathan Ackerman 67 68

136 - LB Boshoff 64 72

137 - Harry Konig 68 69, Austin Cherichella 70 67, David Amm 67 70, Brandon Pieters 68 69

138 - Steven Le Roux 70 68, Jason Froneman 67 71, Sean Howell 67 71

139 - Dean Ralphs 68 71, Leon Vorster 67 72, Shaunak Rama 71 68, Louis Liebenberg 67 72, Jaden Deltel 67 72, Adam Breen 73 66

140 - Tiger Adams 75 65, Christiaan Pretorius 72 68

141 - Wandre Snyman 72 69, Brandon Gildenhuys 68 73, Kyle Kistensamy 73 68, Jonathan Waschefort 70 71, Keelan Africa 71 70, Jayden Hoskins 69 72

Missed the cut:-

142 - Andrew Williamson 71 71, Teboho Sefatsa 67 75, Therion Nel 71 71, Oliver Goldhill 74 68, Andre Van Zyl 73 69, Bernard Jansen van Vuuren 68 74, Enzo Barbaglia 71 71, Gary Kemp 73 69

143 - Andrew McLardy 70 73, Lyle Pedro 68 75, Vaughn van Deventer 70 73, Johan Theron 73 70, Matthew Dennis 74 69, Kian Coetzer 69 74

144 - Shaydon Johnson 72 72, Kayle Wykes 71 73, Philip Geerts 72 72

145 - Carl Mwale 73 72, Dillon Germshuys 71 74, Travis Ladner 72 73, Matthew Bennett 72 73

146 - Ryan Tipping 72 74, Reece Mc Kain 72 74, Tiago Jorge Swart 73 73, M-Jay Xaba 73 73, Muhammad Dadoo 73 73, Matthew Rushton 74 72, Kael Strydom 72 74

147 - Shaheed Patel 74 73, Travis Procter 73 74, Wade Jacobs 75 72, Hayden Garcia 72 75, John Palm 76 71, Ricco Motsa 76 71

148 - John Bele 72 76, Alphius Kelapile 75 73, Mark Maart 75 73

149 - Jarryd Govender 75 74, Evance Vukeya 74 75

150 - Jabulane Mabilane 74 76

151 - Tawriq Abrahams 79 72, Matt Millar 72 79

152 - Yusuf Dadoo 79 73, Irvin Mosate wa Mazibuko 74 78

158 - Chandler Shaw 81 77

WDN - Tristin Galant 77 WDN