This after the second round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City at Gary Player Country Club.

The 32-year-old Van der Spuy will be heading into Friday’s final round on five-under-par for the tournament, one clear of a strong quartet of contenders in Hennie Otto (69), Louis de Jager (68), Callum Mowat (73) and Kyle Barker (70).

Van der Spuy went into the second round in second place, one shot behind Mowat, and, teeing off at 8am, he made seven straight pars before a double-bogey at the par-four eighth was a frustrating blow.

“The big thing about teeing off early in the morning at Sun City is the considerable temperature difference compared to later in the day,” Van der Spuy said.

“The sun rises at 7am but it only really gets warm around 9-10 o’clock. It just takes a while for the body to warm up and get loose, and of course the ball goes much further when it’s warmer.

“So it’s just a case of getting through the first nine holes and I was just pleased to be bogey-free after seven holes, but then the double-bogey six was a punch in the gut,” Van der Spuy said.

But as the sun rose above the Pilanesberg mountains and warmed both the course and the competitors, the Durban-born golfer warmed to his task with back-to-back birdies around the turn and then two more sandwiching a bogey at the 15th.

“I was very happy to recover with those two birdies straight after the double-drop and I was definitely more comfortable on the back nine,” Van der Spuy said.

“It was also a good day on the greens, I converted a few outside chances to keep the round going. Credit to my caddy, Jacob Lekgotho, who I called in three times on the back nine and he was spot-on with his lines.

“Jakes has been the caddy master at Sun City so he’s as comfortable around Gary Player Country Club as I am and those putts were real momentum-keepers,” Van der Spuy said.

The Durban Country Club representative won on his rookie year on tour at the 2015 Fish River Sun Challenge and then again, three years later, at the Mopani Redpath Zambia Open. But as surely as the years have passed, so too has Van der Spuy’s game evolved and he said the final round will be about setting and achieving a target he and his coach set for himself.

“We will see how everyone finishes and then create a game-plan from there. The key is we will be looking at a score and not the rest of the field.

“It’s been an 18-month process and it’s something I now trust to get the job done in a final round. As you mature and go through the ups-and-downs of a golf career, your game evolves as you do as a person.

“I’m definitely a different player now than I was when I won those tournaments three years apart. But I trust the golfer I am,” Van der Spuy said.

The experienced duo of Otto and De Jager were both in fine form on Thursday, having 11 birdies between them, and they will surely put Van der Spuy to the test in Friday’s final round.

SCORES:

139 - Rourke van der Spuy 68 71

140 - Hennie Otto 71 69, Louis de Jager 72 68, Callum Mowat 67 73, Kyle Barker 70 70

141 - Jaco Prinsloo 70 71, Harry Konig 69 72, Stefan Wears-Taylor 72 69, Louis Albertse 71 70

142 - JJ Senekal 73 69, Dan Erickson 71 71, Alex Haindl 71 71

143 - Peter Karmis 72 71, Jacques P de Villiers 70 73, Lyle Rowe 70 73, Dylan Mostert 75 68

144 - Jaco Van Zyl 74 70, Christiaan Basson 72 72, Madalitso Muthiya 75 69, Keagan Thomas 73 71

145 - Heinrich Bruiners 75 70, Michael Kok 72 73, Ockie Strydom 74 71, Martin Rohwer 73 72

146 - Quintin Wilsnach 72 74, Jean Hugo 73 73, Lindani Ndwandwe 72 74, Jacquin Hess 73 73, MJ Viljoen 69 77, James Pennington 73 73, Kyle McClatchie 74 72

147 - Nikhil Rama 73 74, Matias Calderon 72 75, Matthew Spacey 73 74, Clinton Grobler 76 71, Adam Breen 71 76, Ryan Van Velzen 73 74, Joe Long 75 72, Riekus Nortje 77 70

148 - CJ du Plessis 72 76, Andre De Decker 75 73, Aneurin Gounden 74 74, Divan van den Heever 76 72, Hennie O'Kennedy 75 73, Dylan Naidoo 74 74, Herman Loubser 75 73, Andre Van Dyk 73 75

Missed the cut:-

149 - Therion Nel 72 77, Jason Smith 77 72, Siyanda Mwandla 71 78, Albert Venter 71 78, Stuart Smith 73 76, Ruan de Smidt 76 73, Trevor Fisher Jnr 77 72, Ryan Cairns 72 77

150 - Tumelo Molloyi 71 79, Brooklin Bailey 72 78, Merrick Bremner 71 79, Estiaan Conradie 72 78, Jared Harvey 75 75, Gerard du Plooy 72 78, Sean Bradley 74 76, Erhard Lambrechts 77 73, Yubin Jung 72 78, Bradley Bawden 78 72, James Kamte 77 73, Clancy Waugh 77 73, Stephen Ferreira 72 78, Wynand Dingle 72 78

151 - Hayden Griffiths 73 78, Keelan van Wyk 76 75, Sean Cronje 74 77, Pierre Pellegrin 77 74, Byron Coetzee 72 79

152 - James Mack 76 76, Vaughn van Deventer 77 75, Danie Van Niekerk 74 78, Combrinck Smit 77 75, Teaghan Gauche 76 76

153 - Paul Boshoff 77 76, Ruan Korb 79 74, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 74 79, Franklin Manchest 78 75, Dwayne Basson 73 80, Adriel Poonan 77 76, Richard Joubert 81 72, Jake Redman 75 78, Dean O'Riley 76 77

154 - Joshua Seale 75 79, Dayne Moore 73 81, Makhetha Mazibuko 75 79, Maverick Faber 80 74, Rupert Kaminski 72 82, Wade Jacobs 79 75

155 - Wallie Coetsee 74 81, Rhys West 79 76

156 - Malcolm Mitchell 80 76, Chris Cannon 80 76, Steven Le Roux 77 79, Leon Vorster 77 79

158 - Karabo Mokoena 75 83, Michael Palmer 81 77, Clayton Mansfield 85 73, Toto Thimba Jnr 80 78, Peetie van der Merwe 82 76

159 - Martin Vorster 78 81

160 - Chris Swanepoel 82 78

161 - Gareth Sargent 80 81

163 - Kevin Rhoderick 80 83, Gerrit Foster 82 81

167 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr 77 90

168 - Brandon-Jude Rennie 89 79

RTD - Jake Bolton 84 RTD