Samuel Simpson retained his lead in the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship, but with lightning having forced a suspension of Friday’s second round.
Simpson climbed to 10 under par overall through 12 holes of his second round when play was suspended shortly after 3pm at St Francis Links because of lightning. The round will resume at 7am on Saturday.
He is currently one stroke clear of Deon Germishuys, who had also completed 12 holes when play was suspended.
Joe Long made it into the clubhouse on eight under par with a second round of 69.
Simpson’s game plan for the day was to keep the ball in play and focus on making pars. He started his second round exactly in that way, with seven consecutive pars. He had a bogey on the 8th hole, but then birdied three of his next four holes.
“Fairways and greens are the top priority around here,” he said. “It takes a lot of the stress away, so my game plan is to just make pars. I’m trying to put the ball in the best places possible and manage my misses as best I can. If I can keep hitting the greens in regulation, hopefully I will be OK.”
Germishuys is challenging once again on the Sunshine Tour. He’s finished in the top-10 in his last three tournaments. His second round started with five birdies in his opening seven holes to give him another shot at a victory.
Luke Jerling has just made three straight birdies to climb to eight under par when play was suspended.
Jacques Blaauw is in the clubhouse on seven under following a solid 65, while Zander Lombard’s comeback continues to gain momentum as he sits on seven under through nine holes.
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Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour
Article Link: Simpson retains St Francis Links lead