Branden Grace on Friday surged to a share of the second-round lead at the SA Open alongside compatriot Keith Horne before storms brought more havoc to the second-oldest Open event in the sport.
Grace carded a 69 on Thursday and followed that with six birdies in his first 11 holes on Friday before play was abandoned with half the field still to complete their second rounds.
Horne shot a 69 earlier in the day to follow his opening 67.
Jbe Kruger was also in the clubhouse a shot behind the leaders after a 70 with Justin Walters, Brandon Stone and Englishman Ross McGowan all having completed their rounds a further shot back.
Horne has yet to win a European Tour title while Grace has triumphed six times. Three of those wins have come on home soil.
“Whether they go past me or way past me, there are still two days to go so we’ll concentrate on that and I’m very happy with eight-under after two days,” Horne said. “I just hung in there and managed to make three birdies, no bogeys, and I think that was the key, keeping the bogeys off my card. I didn’t make a lot of birdies, but as long as you keep the bogeys off the card you feel like the momentum is still with you. The one disappointing thing I had today was that I played all the par-fives — I parred all of them.”
Grace hit four birdies from the second to get within one of the lead. He bogeyed the sixth, but an eight-foot putt after a fine approach on the 10th got him back to seven-under.
He then birdied the 11th to move to a share of the lead just before play was abandoned for the day.
Overnight leader Jaco van Zyl was heading in the other direction, ending on the 11th hole at four-over for the round and five shots off the lead.
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