Strydom lines up Race to Q-School double at Reading

Strydom lines up Race to Q-School double at Reading

ALBERTON, 12 March 2019 – Pretoria golfer Tristen Strydom will be bidding for back-to-back titles in the Race to Q-School Series after carding a second round 66 to take a four-stroke lead into the final day of the season-finale at Reading Country Club.

The five-time IGT Challenge Tour winner, who triumphed at Akasia Country Club last week, is seeking to become only the first player this season to bank successive victories on the country’s premier golf development circuit this season.

Following a sublime seven-under-par 64 on Monday, the 22-year-old made a double bogey start in the second round.

He rallied with three birdies on the bounce from the par four third to maintain his four-shot overnight lead and bagged a further birdie at the par five eighth to stay well clear of the field on nine-under. After successive birdies at 11 and 12, a final gain at the par four closing hole will see Strydom start the final round four clear on 12 under.

“That was a tough start, but I managed to overturn the double pretty quickly and I just played solid golf from there,” said Strydom, who went wire-to-wire to win the Race to Q-School #8 last week.

“I mentally stayed with it and was able to pick up a few more birdies. I made some good up-and-downs and par saves to keep the round going. It can easily get away from you if you’re not precise at this course, so I stayed patient and took the opportunities on offer.”

His closest pursuer is the experienced South Korean DK Kim, who played the back nine in 30 strokes for a round of 64.

Kyle Barker, who won the Race to Q-School #7 at Services, fired seven birdies for a 64 to grab a share of third on seven-under with Neal Woernhard. The Swiss golfer had dropped two shots in his opening loop, but offset the damage with five birdies for a three-under-par 67.

.“It was a good fight out there,” said Barker, who played with Strydom. “Tristen’s short game was great and his confidence is obviously very high, especially on the greens, so it will take something special to beat him.

“It’s good to be in the final group again. I’m pleased with the way I ground out a score today to put myself in this position again. Every bit of experience counts.”

Leon Vorster fired the low round of the day, an eight-under 63 that catapulted the Vryburg rookie to six-under. He shares fifth with Race to Q-School #5 winner Clayton Mansfield (65), KwaZulu-Natal amateur Luke Mayo (71), Divan Marais (68) and Serengeti amateur Bradley Diggeden (65).

The top 15 in the final Race to Q-School Order of Merit at the conclusion of the season-finale will earn automatic exemption into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour’s Qualifying School at Houghton Golf Club next week.

Diggeden (17) and Vorster (20) are among the players in the bubble and will be giving it one last big push on Wednesday, hoping to break into the top 15.

Second Round Scores

All competitors RSA unless otherwise specified; amateurs indicated as AMA

130 – Tristen Strydom 64 66

134 – DK Kim (KOR) 70 64

135 – Kyle Barker 71 64, Neal Woernhard (SUI) 67 68

136 – Clayton Mansfield 71 65, Luke Mayo AMA 65 71, Divan Marais 68 68, Leon Vorster 73 63, Bradley Diggeden AMA 71 65

137 – Leon Visser 67 70, Darin de Smidt AMA 69 68

138 – Gary Daoust (BEL) 71 67

139 – Richard Joubert 69 70, Harry Konig (ENG) 69 70, Ryan O’Neill (ENG) 66 73, Michael-James Steyn 71 68, Stefan Wears-Taylor 69 70, Gareth Sargent AMA 71 68, Christopher van der Merwe AMA 69 70, Ruhan van Dijk 68 71, Neal Herman 70 69

140 – Jason Roets 72 68, Peetie van der Merwe 69 71, Henning du Plooy AMA 70 70

141 – Dean O’Riley 71 70, Matt Bright 69 72, Michael Saunders (ENG) 73 68, Ryan Joyce AMA 70 71, WM Coetzee AMA 69 72

142 – Zabastian de Jager 72 70, Maritz Wessels 70 72, Jason Rossiter 73 69, Eric Nel 71 71

143 – Hayden Griffiths 67 76, Paulo Serrao (POR) 74 69, Tristan Topka AMA 70 73, James Mack (ENG) 73 70, Jaco van der Merwe AMA 73 70, Liam Labuschagne AMA 71 72, David Toplis 70 73

144 – Jack Duthie 72 72, Albert Venter 73 71, Dylan Mostert 72 72, Paul Rodrigues AMA 73 71, Hanlo Jacobs 72 72, Marco de Beer 72 72

145 – Cody White (CAN) 78 67

146 – Arno Pretorius 68 78, Oliver Tubb (CAN) 75 71, Ivan Mare AMA 72 74

Missed the cut:-

147 – Keanu Pestana 74 73, Keegan van Jaarsveld 69 78, Jay Fourie 74 73

149 – Roedolf Klopper AMA 75 74, Adam Baker 74 75

150 – Scott Houghton (ENG) 73 77

151 – Christof Appel 76 75, Jared Hall AMA 77 74, Albert Visser 77 74

152 – Allan Jirek AMA (CZE) 78 74, Andre Bezuidenhout AMA 76 76

153 – Angus Ellis-Cole AMA 80 73

154 – Nqobani Ndabambi (ZIM) 79 75

155 – Garth Wolter 79 76, Jan-Louis Nel AMA 78 77

157 – Louis Botha 82 75

159 – Boyuan Zhang 82 77, Tristan Eeles AMA 79 80, Xander Prinsloo AMA 86 73

160 – Francois Nel AMA 72 88

162 – Pierre le Roux AMA 81 81

164 – Daniel van Den Heever AMA 81 83

171 – Nathan de Bruyn AMA 88 83

181 – Justin Steenkamp AMA 93 88

WDN – Stephane Van Neer (COD) WDN

PHOTO – Tristen Strydom; credit CJ du Plooy.

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the IGT Challenge Tour.