Tshwane Open 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
The local favourites once again stole the show during Friday's 2016 Tshwane Open action, and Anthony Michael will head into Day 3 of the tournament with a two-shot lead atop the leaderboard.
The 30-year-old carded a one-under 69 in difficult conditions, taking his total to seven-under. Compatriot Charl Schwartzel was the biggest mover on Friday, leaping into second place with a round of six-under 64, while overnight leader Justin Harding struggled, shooting five-over 75.
Here's a look at the leaderboard at the end of Day 2:
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| 1 | Anthony Michael | -7 | 69 |
| 2 | Charl Schwartzel | -5 | 64 |
| T3 | Daniel Im | -4 | 68 |
| T3 | Theunis Spangenberg | -4 | 71 |
| T3 | Haydn Porteous | -4 | 66 |
| 6 | Dylan Frittelli | -3 | 69 |
| T7 | Steven Jeppesen | -2 | 68 |
| T7 | Dean Burmester | -2 | 68 |
| T7 | Richard Sterne | -2 | 70 |
| T7 | Shaun Norris | -2 | 70 |
For the full leaderboard, visit the official website of the European Tour.
Friday Recap
Michael holds the lead at the 2016 Tshwane Open after two days of action, surviving a handful of miscues to finish the day one-under. The South African looked excellent on the front nine, with three birdies and a bogey, and while he came back down to Earth on the back nine with a 36, his score was good enough to move into first.
He came into the day trailing Harding by a single shot, but the overnight leader all but gifted Michael the lead with a horrendous round of five-over that included three bogeys and a double-bogey on the front nine, along with three more bogeys on the back nine.
It wasn't all bad for Harding, however. The 30-year-old landed the first hole-in-one of the tournament on the 14th, and he still sits at two-under for the tournament, good enough for a share of seventh place.
But it was Schwartzel who stole the show on Friday with a number of fantastic shots, finishing the day six-under to move within two shots of the lead. The 31-year-old was on point all day long, evidenced by this spectacular sequence on the 12th, courtesy of the European Tour's official Twitter account:
Schwartzel birdied the first and ninth holes but really opened up on the back nine, landing an eagle on the 12th and bagging two more birdies on the next three holes.
Consistency was the key for Schwartzel, and his approaches in particular stood out. Here's another prime example:
As reported by the European Tour's official website, Schwartzel was more than happy with his performance:
"I'm very, very pleased with the way I hit the golf ball toda. It was a massive improvement to a few months ago.
I didn't putt very well today, but I hit the ball beautifully.
The greens are very difficult to read, and I didn't hit a lot of bad putts but it's frustrating when you miss six-footers and still shoot 64.
"
South Africans have won two of the last three editions of the Tshwane Open, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to see the locals dominate the leaderboard. Only one foreigner sits inside the top five after Friday's action, as Daniel Im played a solid round of two-under 68 to grab a share of third place.
The American played a smart round of golf, landing four birdies and two bogeys to copy his score from Thursday.
He's tied with qualifier Theunis Spangenberg, who couldn't capture the magic that saw him sitting at five-under after Day 1. The 32-year-old finished with a round of one-over 71 and will have to rediscover his form on Saturday to have any chance of pulling off a major upset.
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