Without a doubt, the figure of the day at Hunewood has a name and surname, he is South African and his name is Keenan Davidse (-14). He is the figure of the day because to start with his six under par he has placed himself co-leader of the tournament, but above all for the confession he made just after finishing his second round of the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship: “Two days ago (the day before the tournament started) my coach died of a heart attack and three days ago an aunt of mine who I was very close to died”. A very hard blow for the South African golfer.
Playing this blessed sport is already a very complicated task, so imagine doing it in an emotional situation like this. It can’t be easy. Well, what a tribute Davidse is offering them. The South African is giving an impressive lesson in play at Port Elizabeth. This morning, taking advantage of the fact that the gale had not yet made its presence felt, he handed in a bogey-free card of 66 strokes which, together with yesterday’s 64 strokes, have propelled him to the top of the tournament.
The 34-year-old local player does not yet know what it is to win either on the Sunshine Tour or the Challenge Tour and will seek to offer a victory this week to his two loved ones: “It’s been a very emotional week, I don’t know if this is the reason why I’m playing well but I know I have two angels looking after me and this motivates me for the whole week. I’m fighting for it,” confessed an emotional Davidse. If he achieves victory, he would also prevent, for the first time in five years, the South African country that organises these four co-sanctioned tournaments from being without victories on this tour.
Alongside co-leader Davidse is the Swede Bjorn Akesson who has handed in the best card of the windy afternoon shift. With 67 strokes he has moved up to the top spot thanks to six birdies and a solitary bogey. The reality is that this result has been quite a feat as the afternoon shift has suffered a significant slaughter due to the weather, especially when compared to the results achieved in the morning.
From the rest of the day, once again, Angel Ayora (-10) stands out, who has taken full advantage of the less adverse shift of the day to repeat yesterday’s figures and hand in another five under par card at Hunewood Golf Club which puts him at -10, four strokes off the lead and with 36 holes ahead. With the hurricane expected tomorrow anything can happen and four strokes are not a difference. Angel seeks to continue accumulating experiences on the circuit and without a doubt the one that comes in the next two days is one of those that hardens a lot.
Ayora knows what he wants and despite these two good rounds, he is looking for more: “With five under par you always have to be happy, but I have left three clear strokes on the way” confessed the Andalusian just after finishing. The reality is that Angel’s game has been very good and as Juan Ochoa, his coach and also caddie at the moment, has acknowledged, the great game displayed today was to scratch even more strokes if possible from the course. A three-putt and a couple of aggressive approaches have prevented the Andalusian from being right now alongside Davidsee and Akesson sharing the lead.
The 19-year-old player from San Roque wants to continue this weekend with the great streak with which he has started the season. It is his fifth tournament of the exercise between the DP World Tour and the Challenge and he already accumulates four cuts surpassed a top 12, a 21st place and a 33rd. This week the Andalusian seeks to continue adding points that consolidate him among the best on the circuit. Step by step, let’s not forget that he has only been a professional for four months although he is in charge of continuing to break down the walls at a devilish pace.
Bad luck. The other four Spaniards in the fray played today in the less favourable shift and have suffered a lot due to the storm that started to rise around 11 in the morning local time and have ended up succumbing to the claws of the course. Victor Pastor (-2), Javi Sainz (PAR) and Quim Vidal (PAR) have not been able to manage the advantage gained yesterday and say goodbye to the tournament earlier than expected. Borja Virto (+6) who needed to recover strokes to the course has not been able to reverse the situation and also concludes the South African tour.
