Rowan Lester sits tied for 20th and two shots outside the top 10 at the halfway mark of the Sunshine Tour’s Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at Irene Country Club in Pretoria.
The Hermitage man opened his week with a four-under 68 in the afternoon wave on day one, and back-to-back birdies on seven and eight pushed him inside the top 10 as he made the turn.
But after failing to take advantage of the par-5 ninth, he bogeyed the par-5 10th and then dropped further shots on 12 and 13 to fall the wrong side of par on the day.
A strong finish saw him pick up shots on 16 and 17 to move to five-under for the tournament and he’s part of a 12-strong group at that number.
Liam Grehan won’t be joining him on the weekend tee sheet, however, as The K Club man could only follow yesterday’s 74 with a level-par 72 that left him on two-over overall and three shots shy of the cutline.
It appears as though Lester and the other 64 players inside the cut mark are playing for second place at best, however, as first-round leader Gerhard Pepler followed his nine-under 63 with a 64 to remain bogey-free through 36 holes and opened up a six-stroke lead at -17.
The South African is a four-time Big Easy Tour winner, but has just one Sunshine Tour victory to his name which will give the chasing pack hope that he could come back to the field over the final two rounds.
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