Staff WriterFrancesco Laporta calls South Africa his second home, and the Investec SA Open is starting to look like his favourite living room. On a calm Friday morning in the winelands, the Italian swept round Stellenbosch Golf Club in 64 strokes to reach 10-under-par and take a one-shot lead into the weekend of South Africa’s oldest professional championship.
England’s Nathan Kimsey sits just a step behind after a 65 of his own, with 2023 champion Dean Burmester at eight under and South African compatriot Hennie du Plessis charging into the conversation courtesy of a course-record 63. With a Masters exemption and Open spots dangling in the distance, this Investec South African Open has the feel of a national open with major-sized consequences.
Laporta’s “Second Home” Charge
Laporta’s scorecard owed plenty to timing. The winelands were unusually benign in the morning, the breeze still in bed while the leaders went to work. On a course that punishes anything vaguely crooked, he treated the fairways like narrow runways and landed drive after drive where they needed to be.
Laporta’s bond with the country is more than just professional courtesy. He spent several years living in Johannesburg and grinding on the Sunshine Tour before returning to Italy, and the familiarity shows every time he tees it up on South African soil.
“I like playing in South Africa. It’s been my second home for a long time. This course actually reminds me a lot more of the Johannesburg courses. It’s tough, the fairways are tight and there’s a lot of rough so you have to hit it straight. I like it. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m sure the fans will cheer for the South Africans. But South Africans are always fair and it’s always good to play in front of them,” said Laporta.
It helps that his strongest asset this week – accuracy off the tee – is precisely what Stellenbosch is demanding. The club has tweaked tee boxes for the Investec SA Open and expanded the water hazard guarding the 18th, making positional play something more than a suggestion.
“My tee shots were good. On this golf course if you hit your tee shots straight you have a lot of opportunities,” he said.
History is the dangling carrot. The closest an Italian has come in this championship was Renato Paratore’s tie for second in 2023. Laporta isn’t about to start polishing trophies, but he knows exactly what is in front of him over the final 36 holes.
Kimsey, Burmester and Du Plessis in Hot Pursuit
If Laporta is feeling cosy in his “second home”, there’s a very real chance the neighbours could crash the party.
Kimsey, one back at nine under, has been trending in the right direction and knows he’s stumbled onto one of the DP World Tour’s big chances of the early season. The Investec SA Open may sit on South African soil, but with exemptions into the 2026 Masters and The Open for the top finishers not already exempt, it has become a global gateway event.
“My game’s been good and I’m glad I could put myself in contention here,” he said.
Behind him, Burmester is lurking like a man who’s read this script before. The big-hitting South African, already an Investec South African Open champion from 2023, posted a 67 to reach eight under and keep his chances of a second national crown very much intact, even if he felt he left a few shots out there.
“Considering how good the conditions were in the morning, the course was really gettable and I just didn’t feel like I had my best game with me. I’m proud of the way I hung in there because the driver misbehaved quite a bit. But we’ll see what the weekend holds.”
Given how narrow the fairways are and how much trouble lurks near the greens, “misbehaving driver” is not usually a phrase that pairs well with 67. The rest of the field will have taken note.
And then there’s Du Plessis, the man who lit up Stellenbosch with a 63 that now sits in the record books. The score has been ratified by the club in light of those tee box changes and the enlarged lake at the last – this was no soft-touch layout being abused on a calm day, but a proper national championship test taken apart by an in-form player.
“I feel like my game has been trending for the last month or so, and I’ve focused all of my preparation on this incredible tournament.”
At seven under, he’s three off the lead but clearly moving in the right direction. If his “trending” continues, the Investec SA Open could yet end with a home winner.
High Stakes: Masters and Open Dreams on the Line
For all the cachet of lifting a national open trophy, this week is about more than just silverware and a cheque. An exemption into the 2026 Masters is on the line, along with exemptions for the top three finishers not already exempt into The Open.
For players like Laporta and Kimsey, that turns every fairway and every putt into an opportunity to alter an entire career pathway. Slip the Green Jacket reference into conversation and suddenly your heart rate spikes on the 18th tee.
For Burmester and Du Plessis, the Investec SA Open is both a home championship and a launchpad. A win, or even a high finish, can reshape their major schedules and world ranking trajectory for the next two seasons.
That’s the thing about this tournament: it may be played in Stellenbosch among vineyards and mountain backdrops, but it functions as a crossroads between the Sunshine Tour, the DP World Tour, and the major-championship ecosystem.
Course, Conditions and the Shape of the Weekend
Stellenbosch Golf Club has shown two very different personalities over the opening two rounds of the Investec SA Open.
In the morning, with barely a ripple of wind disturbing the flags, the course is “gettable” in the way Burmester described – but only if you keep it disciplined off the tee. The tight fairways, revamped tee boxes and that expanded water hazard on 18 mean the course rewards patience as much as power. Get greedy and you can spend a long time staring at vineyard slopes, wondering where your ball just went.
In the afternoons, when the breeze bothers the treetops and the firming greens start to glare back at you, par feels far more valuable. That’s why Laporta’s 64 and Du Plessis’ 63 stand out: they’re not just low rounds, they’re statements about how precisely you have to play to separate from the pack.
The crowd has added its own flavour. South African fans, as Laporta was quick to acknowledge, tend to reserve their loudest roars for the locals but keep things fair for everyone. Expect that dynamic to sharpen over the closing stretch: polite applause for the foreign leaders, a rising rumble for Burmester and Du Plessis if they mount a charge.
A National Open on the Cusp of a Classic Finish
As the Investec SA Open heads into the final 36 holes, the storylines stack up almost as high as the surrounding mountains.
An Italian chasing history at his “second home”. A steady Englishman eyeing his biggest title. A past champion hanging around with a misbehaving driver. A home favourite fresh off a course record and talking about a month-long upward trend.
All of it playing out at a reworked Stellenbosch Golf Club, with major-championship exemptions and a historic trophy on the line.
The chase for a place in Investec South African Open history is about to enter the final 36 holes. If the opening two rounds are any indication, South Africa’s oldest open is about to serve up a very modern kind of drama.
