Staff WriterAt the Vodacom Origins of Golf in Parys, defending champion Yurav Premlall looked every bit the man who doesn’t plan on giving up his crown without a brawl.
On Saturday, the 21-year-old turned a sluggish start into a fireworks display, rattling off six consecutive birdies on his way to an eight-under total and a two-shot lead heading into the final round at Parys Golf & Country Estate.
South Africa’s Marcus Taylor is closest on his heels at six-under, while George Coetzee, England’s Joe Long, and first-round leader Herman Loubser lurk three back at five-under.
The leading Sunshine Ladies Tour professional is Nadia van der Westhuizen, sitting at two-over after grinding through a tough second round.
Premlall’s round had all the drama of a soap opera written by a golf nut: a bogey at the par-three 12th, followed by a rip-roaring charge of six birdies in a row.
If the rest of the field thought he might be vulnerable, the youngster quickly reminded them that patience—and a putter behaving itself for once—can be a lethal combination.
“The round was good after a slow start. I’ve been putting poorly the past couple of weeks but I stayed patient after doing a lot of work on the putting green, and it clicked today. I went on a nice run and played very solidly,” said Premlall.
It’s familiar territory for him. Last year, he broke through for his first Sunshine Tour win at the Vodacom Origins of Golf in Kathu, and now he’s within touching distance of going back-to-back in the series’ Free State/Northern Cape region.
“It’s been a year since I last won, so it will be nice to go out and do it again tomorrow,” he added. “At the end of the day, you have to go out and play golf.
For tomorrow, the game plan is to get the ball into play and hit as many greens as possible in order to make putts. That formula normally works well, so more of the same tomorrow.”
Of course, Mother Nature had her say. With play suspended in the afternoon first by lightning and later by darkness, the second round will resume at 07:00 on Sunday, with the final round to follow.
So, as the Vodacom Origins of Golf reaches its climax, it’s advantage Premlall. But with Taylor, Coetzee, Long, and Loubser circling, he’ll need every ounce of patience—and maybe a few more of those six-pack birdie runs—to finish the job.
