Herman Loubser followed up his first-round 67 with another five-under-par 67 on Friday to take a commanding three-stroke lead into the weekend of the Mopani Zambia Open at the Nkana Golf Club.
But it was a round in which he had to rely heavily on his short game as he also overcame a double-bogey on the 10th on his way to claiming the lead on 10 under par.
“I didn’t hit the ball that good today, especially off the tee,” he said. “I left myself a lot of work to do with the short game, but luckily my short game was really good today. My short game saved me today.”
His nearest challenger is Samuel Simpson on seven under par following his round of 65 on Friday. There are a group of players on six under including defending champion MJ Viljoen and veteran Hennie Otto.
Heading into the weekend, Loubser’s game plan is to keep things simple.
“I’m just going to try to hit the ball a bit better,” he said. “I’ll keep the putting and chipping as is. But I need to just try to hit a few more fairways. This course gets tricky once you miss.”
Simpson, who has already had two top-10 finishes this year, is also looking forward to a big weekend.
“I got off to a solid start today. My game plan was just to birdie the par-fives and to plot my way around the golf course. I turned in four under and then just stuck to the strategy. There are still two more rounds, the course isn’t easy, and I’ve just got to stick to my processes. If it adds up to a good total at the end, I will be happy.”
At just four strokes off the lead, Otto is hoping his experience will count on the weekend.
“The golf course is in unbelievable condition, but it gives and takes. You need a bit of luck, especially on the greens. The key this weekend is patience.”
Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour
