Bregman Leads SA as Tvede Bolts

Stacy Lee Bregman was the best-placed among
local contenders in Durban on Friday, but it was overnight leader Julie Tvede who
raced into a commanding six-shot lead, after the second round of the Acer
Women’s SA Open being played at the Durban Country Club.

Having gone
off the 10th tee this morning, and with an even fifteen pars, Bregman enjoyed a
patient bogey-free round, just by hitting the fairways and two putting on the
greens, after her positive start that saw her sink her first birdie on the par
three 4th hole after teeing off with a six iron to the green, and sank a six
foot putt.

On the par
five 8th hole, it looked as if she would be in for trouble when her first shot
went into the rough, but she got up close to the green with her approach shot,
only to see her chip onto the green run to within two inches of the hole.

She tapped
it in for her second birdie. Hitting solidly throughout the day it came down to
the final hole of her round on the par 4 9th. With a low run second shot off a
five iron, which she left just short of the green.

Then having
chipped up onto the green, her putt was literally hanging on the edge of the
hole, only to be told by her playing partner that it had indeed dropped. A
great way to end a superb round today.

Lee Anne
Pace was finished the second South African on the leaderboard, two shots behind
Bregman and nine shots behind Tvede, but after an opening round of 70, she will
be looking to improve on her second round one-over par 74.

Meanwhile, Tvede
comfortably lead the field as she challenged every par five and birdied the
lot. Having started off the first tee, she sank a good twelve foot putt on the
3rd hole, only to drive into the bunker on the 5th hole, but survived with an
up and down for her second birdie.

The calm
Tvede then took a three wood off the 8th tee, simply chipped up to the pin and
went up and down for her third birdie to go -10 under par at the turn.

On the first
par five of the back nine, on the 10th hole she hit her second shot with a
rescue club to within sixty metres of the pin, and then rolled in eight foot
putt for birdie number four.

Her final
birdie came on the 14th hole when she hit her second shot within forty metres
of the pin, pitched it long by three feet, only to make the downhill birdie
putt.

By now Tvede
was feeling far too enthusiastic and overshot the pin by fifteen feet and had to
three putt on the 17th hole for her only bogey of the round. As a delighted
Tvede said "Well it was a par four after all, I had birdied all the par fives
though!"

Six shots
behind is no stranger to South Africa, Anne-Lise Caudal from Biarritz, South Western
France, who played in the 2006 Amateur World Championship in Stellenbosch. First
time playing as a professional on the local tour, Caudal started off well from
the 10th tee where she made birdie.

She then
dropped two shots when she three putted on both the par four 13th and 17th
holes, to turn on -3 under. She drove her tee shot right of the fairway off the
1st hole, but recovered from a long second shot, to chip in and make putt for
birdie.

Caudal got
into a little more trouble on the par four 7th hole when her tee shot went
straight into a bush, but with a five iron she made the green, only to two putt
and card her third bogey of the day.

Her final
birdie of the day came when she drove her trusted three wood off the 8th tee,
and used it again for her second shot to make the green. She then two putted to
make birdie and carded an even par round 72, to put her one shot clear of
leading South African Bregman.

The leading
amateur at -2 under par for the tournament is 16 year old Bonita Bredenhann
from Namibia, having carded a 73 round today, while day 1’s best-placed amateur
Bertine Strauss couldn’t keep her form into the second round, carding a
disappointing 76 to lie ten shots off the pace.

England‘s Rebecca Hudson was ecstatic when
she hit a 5 iron into a slight breeze for 158 yards which pitched up short by
three yards, and then just trickled in for a hole in one on the par 3 2nd hole.
Hudson finished
in fifth place -4 under par for the tournament after today’s second round score
of 75.

The final
round of the Acer Women’s SA Open gets underway at 07h00 on Saturday morning, with
the leaders off from 09h10 at the Durban Country Club.