Round two of the Nedbank Golf Challenge had to be postponed with the final groupings just three holes into their round, due to inclement weather.
Overnight leader Ryan Fox, alongside nearest-challenger Luke Donald and third-placed Guido Migliozzi, had just completed the par-four third hole when the klaxxon sounded, calling what was hoped to be a temporary halt, but when the lightning threat dissipated, heavy rain continued, leaving areas of the course waterlogged, and the decision was taken to suspend overnight.
European Ryder Cup Captain Donald and New Zealander Fox both started the day brightly, birdieing the second hole, but when the Kiwi bogeyed the third, both players were tied at eight under par when the play was called to a stop.
England’s Ross Fisher played the front nine in three under par and added an eagle at his last hole of the day – the par five 10th – to get to six under par, alongside Dane Rasmus Højgaard and Guido Migliozzi of Italy, who were through six and three holes respectively.
Round two of the penultimate event of the 2022 DP World Tour season will resume at 7.45am on Saturday. Pairings will remain the same for round three, with no re-draw.
“We came off the course due to lightning,” said tournament director, David Williams, “that danger remained for a few hours, and unfortunately the rain then continued.
“We went out to have a good look at the course and it was waterlogged. What it needed was the rain to stop for a couple of hours to allow us to prepare the course.
“When it got to around 3.30pm it meant that at most we would only get a few holes completed and conditions still would not have been good.
“We decided that the sensible move would be to suspend today and re-start tomorrow at 7.45am. The groups will remain the same for the third round, with no re-draw, to minimise the turnaround time between rounds.”
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