Cloete caught the brunt of the duck weather at Kingswood Golf Estate with an early morning start, but the 25-year-old from Pezula produced the only flawless round – a four-under-par 66 – that earned him a share of second at seven under.
Cloete has former Irish Boys champion Robin Dawson and compatriot John Ross Galbraith for company and the trio sit one shot adrift from Sweden’s Oliver Gillberg. Tramore’s Dawson matched Gillberg’s 65, while Galbraith from Whitehead posted a 66.
Joint overnight leader Edgar Catherine dropped shots at his last two holes and the Frenchman slipped to fifth after signing for a 68, while reigning Sanlam SA Amateur champion Craig Ross from Scotland carded a 66 to move into sixth at five under.
Kingswood local Nel was five under through 13, but a double bogey at the par four 14th proved costly and the KeNako Academy player signed for 69 to tie for seventh with French pair Pierre Pineau and Frédéric LaCroix, who carded 67 and 68 respectively. Dan Brown from England closed with a 67 to round out the top 10 leaderboard at three under 137.
The cut to 65 and ties fell at four-over-par 144, leaving 74 players to contest the final two rounds.
Gillberg laid an early marker for the lead with a birdie-birdie start.
The 20-year-old from Orebro piled on more gains at 13, 18, four, five and eight to offset a drop on each loop.
The Swede has been in the Southern Cape for five days with the Swedish Mens Squad and arrived on the third of February. The wet weather was not exactly what he expected on his second visit to South Africa. “The last time I was here was on a holiday with my family about 12 years ago, and it was always sunny,” said Gillberg. “The rain was a bit of a surprise this morning. It definitely changed my game plan, especially club selection, because the air was quite heavy and the ball didn’t fly as far.
“But the rain did soften up the greens, so you could get a bit more aggressive with the irons. These greens are fantastic, but the grain is tricky. It can change two or three times on a 25 metre putt, so it’s best to get the close to the pin. Inside eight feet, you can hole them.”
The skies opened early on Wednesday morning just as Marquette University graduate Cloete started his second trip around Kingswood.
“I played really well tee to green, which is how you score here and I just stayed patient,” he said.
“Oliver was holing everything he looked at and that kept me focused. I tried to keep pace with him without chasing birdies. The putter worked well and helped me with crucial par-saves where it counted to keep going. Despite the rain, I had a great day and hopefully I can keep it going.”
Second Round Scores (top 20)
132 Oliver Gillberg SWE 67 65
133 Robin Dawson IRL 68 65; Brandon Cloete 67 66; John Ross Galbraith IRL 67 66
134 Edgar Catherine FRA 66 68
135 Craig Ross SCO 69 66
136 Pierre Pineau FRA 69 67; Frédéric LaCroix FRA 68 68; Andre Nel 67 69
137 Dan Brown GBR 70 67
138 Alex Gleeson IRL 67 71; Liam Johnston SCO 66 72
139 Andrew Carlsson 71 68; Marcus Svensson SWE 69 70; Gregory Mckay 69 70; Victor Veyret FRA 67 72
140 Johan Coetzer 72 68; Clayton Mansfield 71 69; Viktor Hagborg - Asp SWE 70 70; Kevin Le Blanc IRL 70 70; Luke Jerling 69 71; Luca Filippi 69 71; Ludwig Aberg SWE 68 72
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
