Ken Borland

SUN CITY, North-West – Callum Mowat began with two birdies and just continued on that high as he shot a 67 to lead the SunBet Challenge hosted by Sun City after the first round on Wednesday, saying afterwards it was a round that “made me feel good about me”.

Mowat’s five-under-par score included just one bogey on the testing Gary Player Country Club layout and he came home in three-under 33. That gave him a one-stroke lead over Rourke van der Spuy on four-under, while MJ Viljoen and Harry Konig were tied for third after shooting 69s.

“I’ve been inside a deep hole and I needed to figure out how I felt about myself,” Mowat said. “It was nice to feel I belong out here and I am competitive, it was good to feel good about myself and where my game is trending. It made me feel good about me.

“I just tried to be aggressive, just let fly and stop trying to steer the ball around, let it run! The demanding thing about Gary Player Country Club is off the tee, but I was more aggressive than usual.

“That meant I could hit a lot more greens with shorter irons. My game-plan was to just get as far as possible off the tee, it worked well and then I just stuck to the plan,” the 30-year-old Mowat said. The Glendower golfer had not broken 70 yet in four rounds this season at the FBC Zimbabwe Open and the Sishen Classic.

The 27-year-old Viljoen looked like catching Mowat as he raced to four-under through 14 holes, but a weak finish saw him drop a shot at the par-four 18^th to finish two back on three-under.

Van der Spuy started his round with eight pars, but he caught fire around the turn with birdies on the ninth and 10^th holes, and he picked up further shots on the 13^th and 17^th holes in a bogey-free round.

Konig, hailing from Devon in England, is in his first season on the Sunshine Tour and he also dropped just one shot, making a four on the par-three 16^th, in his 69.

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Just about every golfer chats about bringing an aggressive approach to the course, but it doesn’t always translate into reality or a low score. But it did for 23-year-old Luca Filippi on Friday in the second round of the FBC Zimbabwe Open as he fired a superb seven-under-par 65 at Chapman Golf Club to claim a five-shot lead heading into the weekend.

Filippi, who began the day in a tie for fifth after shooting 68 at Royal Harare Golf Club on the first day, was just one-under-par through nine holes on Friday, but he knew he was playing well and stuck at it. Even missing a short birdie putt on the 10^th did not derail him and he then exploded into action with successive birdies on the 11^th and 12^th holes, an eagle on the par-five 14^th, and further birdies on 16 and 18.

“I played nicely from the start, even though I was only one-under on the front nine,” Filippi said. “I had some nice opportunities for birdie and then missed a short one on 10, but it was great to then start making putts. I was especially happy about my eagle on 14 because I had only played the par-fives in level-par on the front.

“I wanted to be aggressive and on both courses they’re using for the tournament you’ve got to hit your Driver very well. If you position yourself well off the tee then there are lots of birdies out there.

“I was doing that well today, although the putting was a little tricky at Chapman, the greens aren’t rolling quite as pure as at Royal Harare. But I knew there was definitely a low score out here.

“I will keep my game-plan pretty much the same over the weekend, shooting four-under at Royal Harare on the first day was a good start. I need to keep being aggressive, I can’t afford to sit back and relax. I need to keep my foot on the pedal, be aggressive off the tee and give my putts a chance,” Filippi said.

The Milnerton Golf Club representative, who is on 11-under-par at the halfway stage, will need to keep an eye on second-placed Louis de Jager (-6), who it must always be remembered did the South African Amateur Championship double in 2007, has won five times on the Sunshine Tour and competed in over 100 DP World Tour events.

All that experience has come to the fore in solid back-to-back rounds of 69 by De Jager, while in-form first-round leader Louis Albertse is with a group of five golfers at five-under-par after shooting 74 at Chapman GC.

Zambia’s Madalitso Muthiya kept himself in the top-three with a level-par 72 on the same course, while veteran Jaco Ahlers shot a 69 at Royal Harare to also go five-under for the tournament. Albert Venter and American Dan Erickson are the other golfers on that mark.

Western Province captain Nama Xaba is one of the most exciting young loose forwards in the country, but for now he is focused on trying to lead his team out of the Currie Cup doldrums and gobbling up every opportunity he gets for the high-flying Stormers side in the United Rugby Championship.

The 24-year-old Xaba is a turnover specialist of note, but his place in the Stormers team is blocked by the evergreen Deon Fourie, who has been in phenomenal form this year. But the respect with which the Durban-born player is held in Cape Town is shown by him being appointed captain of the Currie Cup team, which is struggling to stay in semi-final contention with just nine points from eight matches.

“It’s been a baptism of fire for me but a great honour to captain Western Province,” Xaba said. “It hasn’t gone too well on the field, but we have a young side and we will take a lot of learnings out of it.

“We know what exciting players we have in the union and we’re just waiting for everything to click, we’re trying to get our competitiveness back, we feel like we can touch it, it’s so close.

“There are a few players swinging between the URC and the Currie Cup, like myself, Ben-Jason Dixon and Juan de Jongh. In a way I’m fortunate that I know I’m not in John Dobson’s direct URC plans and I won’t be starting every week.

“But I just try and use whatever opportunity I get in the URC to the best of my ability. It’s tricky when players come down to the Currie Cup side, but obviously their experience is very helpful,” Xaba said.

The Western Province Rugby Union was in disarray a couple of years ago, but the superb success of the Stormers – fourth in the URC log – has improved the mood considerably. Xaba said the team management have been able to drive a focus on what is happening inside the squad and on the field, but not allowing all the administrative controversy and chaos to distract them.

“The management have brought a lot of change in attitude and we should give them credit. What’s happening in the newspapers is not being allowed to creep into the team space.

“The coaches have done really well because it is our job security on the line. We have focused just on what we need to do, which has freed up the players and we are training well. They’ve done well to shield us.

“Winning is also a big thing. There are a lot of external pressures if you don’t win, because people think those off-field issues are creeping in. But it takes a lot of pressure off when you have the Stormers being so successful in the URC,” Xaba said.

South Africa may have collapsed to just 204 all out in their second innings, but the 69-run lead they had in the kitty has left Bangladesh with a stiff target to chase and the tourists’ batsmen will find no shelter from the Kingsmead pitch either as there is sharp turn on offer and the seamers are also posing challenges in the first Test in Durban.

Needing 274 for victory, Bangladesh had crashed to 11/3 at stumps on the fourth day on Sunday, as Proteas spinners Keshav Maharaj (3-0-7-2) and Simon Harmer (3-1-4-1) caused devastation to the top-order.

South Africa’s batting coach Justin Sammons unpacked the challenges their batsmen faced on Sunday, with conditions likely to only get tougher on Monday’s final day.

“The ball is gripping and it has turned more as the game as gone on. Against seam, the scoring rate is tough to get up if the bowlers hit those probing lengths, hitting straight is not going to give you much reward,” Sammons said.

“And there’s a bit of reverse swing on offer as well, which makes it really tricky. Bangladesh, with the lengths they hit, showed their skill and their ability to make the ball tail towards the end as well.

“Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled with great discipline and control as well. So we had to bat really well to get to 204.

“But if you dig in then it’s not the sort of pitch you will get blasted out on,” Sammons said.

Although the fading light prevented South Africa from using their pace bowlers with the new ball at the start of the Bangladesh innings, it will be interesting to see if the Proteas go with the successful Maharaj/Harmer combination first thing on Monday morning, or give Lizaad Williams and Duanne Olivier a burst with the shiny ball.

Sammons said there had been some talk about starting with one seamer and one spinner on Sunday afternoon.

Maharaj’s two wickets saw him go past fellow left-hander Paul Adams as the leading wicket-taker among South African spinners post-isolation, with 136 in 41 Tests at an average of 32.93.

Captain Dean Elgar again anchored South Africa’s batting effort as he completed half-centuries in both innings, with his 64 providing a great platform for the innings.

He and Keegan Petersen (36) combined for a 68-run second-wicket partnership, the biggest of the innings, while debutant Ryan Rickelton showed good composure under pressure as he scored 39 not out while wickets tumbled at the other end.

Offie Mehidy (35-6-85-3) and fast bowler Ebadot Hossain (13-1-40-3) combined most effectively with the ball for Bangladesh. Taskin Ahmed, who had to periodically go off the field to have a shoulder injury treated, chipped in manfully with 2/24 in 11 overs.