South African golfer Nikhil Rama rises to the highest of the leaderboard on the Joburg Open after hitting eight-under 62 within the second spherical on Friday; “What can I say, it was a great round” Rama mentioned
Final Up to date: 24/11/23 6:20pm
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Highlights from the second spherical of the Joburg Open from the Houghton Golf Membership in Johannesburg, South Africa
Highlights from the second spherical of the Joburg Open from the Houghton Golf Membership in Johannesburg, South Africa
World No 1,214 Nikhil Rama is the shock chief after spherical two of the Joburg Open, carding an eight-under-par 62 on the Houghton Golf Membership, one shot forward of compatriot Thriston Lawrence.
South African Rama, 22, adopted up his opening-round 65 with six birdies and an eagle on the par 4 third gap as he seeks a primary profession title as knowledgeable.
His earlier finest end on tour was thirty third on the identical course final 12 months.
He got here inside a number of inches of one other eagle on the par-four fourth however his iron into the inexperienced narrowly missed the outlet and he needed to accept a birdie, however he will probably be delighted after a rocky begin to his opening spherical on Thursday.
Rama is 13 below par for the event, one shot forward of Lawrence (66) and two in entrance of the house pair of Dean Burmester (62) and Jacques Kruyswijk (64).
“What can I say, it was a great round,” Rama mentioned. “It’s my lowest score on tour so far so I’m really excited about that. I’m enjoying the pressure, enjoying the fans, which is great, and just trying to have fun.
“Coming into this week the purpose was to make the minimize however I do know I can compete on any tour. I have been enjoying properly recently so I am trying ahead to the remainder of the week. I used to be simply having fun with myself on the market with my caddie Shannon, it is nice enjoyable.”
Lawrence was overnight leader going into Friday but a mixed round that included an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys allowed Rama to take the lead into the weekend.
“I had a gameplan to be aggressive as all the time,” Lawrence said. “It wasn’t simple this morning, it was fairly windy and I needed to actually scramble a few of the holes.
“I managed to make a nice few saves out there and get the momentum going so I’m happy with four under. My gameplan over the weekend will be the same as today: driver everywhere and attack.”
Defending champion Dan Bradbury, who led from begin to end in simply his third DP World Tour occasion 12 months in the past – after receiving a last-minute sponsor’s invite – is a part of a nine-way tie for eighth on 5 below after carding a second spherical of 69.
The Joburg Open is the season-opening occasion on the European tour.
The 2024 season started on Thursday, solely 4 days after the 2023 one completed in Dubai.
