“Brutal, this is brutal”. This is how Casey Jarvis defined what all the players were facing at that moment. Extremely tough conditions on the second day of the Dimension Data Pro Am, even worse than yesterday with a lot of rain and a lot of wind. In this chaos, David Ravetto (-9), Louis Albertse (-9) and Zander Lombard (-8) are currently reigning. The three of them have handed in cards of 66 strokes at Oteniqua.
The Frenchman Ravetto lost his full playing rights for the DP World Tour in November and came very close to regaining them through the School. Ravetto, who two years ago earned the rights to the DP World Tour through the School itself, also knows what it is like to play the Challenge as that same year he played the Circuit and managed to qualify for the Mallorca Final. The Frenchman is looking to return to the first division and any path is good. Yesterday Ravetto and Albertse signed the second and third best card of the day at Montagu and today at Oteniqua with a solid six under par they have both taken the first place in the tournament.
Another one who is involved in the mix is Zander Lombard who has been flirting with his first victory in the DP World with five top 20s in as many appearances, including a second place in Bahrain and a sixth in the Dubai Invitational. Zander arrived at the Dimension Data Pro Am therefore in great form and as the player with the best world ranking in the tournament (100). Today he has started to show the reasons. After a good round yesterday at Montagu, today he has taken advantage of his passage through Oteniqua to rise to the top of the leaderboard.
In this tournament co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, Lombard is looking for his second victory on his country’s circuit and it would also be his debut in the second division of the European Circuit. Tomorrow Zander will storm The Links and he will do so in much better conditions than his tournament colleagues have had in the first two days. It is expected that the rain and wind will give a break and that the sun will shine on Fancourt Golf State.
Of the players who have not passed through Outeniqua in these first two days, the most affordable course this week, the second best placed player is one of ours, Quim Vidal (-3) and only surpassed by Benjamin Follett-Smith (-5). The Spaniard signs another great day on the second most difficult course and hands in a card of 70 strokes and a total of three under par. The Barcelona player is already in the top 20 before facing tomorrow a course that can give him many opportunities to place himself among the best in the tournament. The Spaniard who has arrived this year on the circuit after his great season in the Alps Tour wants to start adding as many points as possible on the Road to Mallorca from now on. So far in the two tournaments we have had this year he made the cut in the first one and missed in Cape Town. He has made himself a great opportunity this week. Chances of winning? Of course. Quim has passed with very good grades the two most difficult days on the two most difficult courses. Much merit.
Víctor Pastor (-1) yesterday signed one of the best cards of the tournament (-6) and today he has faced The Links in very difficult conditions. Three black holes right at the start made things very difficult for him. Five up in the first three flags with two double bogeys. Víctor did not give up and in the following thirteen holes he scored a total of par on the course. Much merit, both mental and game, to have withstood the onslaught of the course in this way in very difficult playing conditions and with such a painful start: “If at the end of the third hole they tell me that I was going to finish the round in plus five, I would have signed it. In fact, I could have gone to the clubhouse at that moment. What a struggle.” the Cordovan commented with a laugh. Yesterday’s income allows him to place himself among the forty best in the tournament and face the third day that delimits the cut with possibilities of looking upwards playing in Montagu.
Of the rest of the Spaniards, it is worth mentioning that Lucas Vacarisas (+3) is two strokes from the cut and that Javi Sainz (+7) and Joel Moscatel (+9) will need a third day of great performance if they want to have options to make the cut. Bryce Easton who yesterday finished the day as leader today has handed in a card of 80 strokes at The Links and is placed in twenty-eighth place with (-2).
