Moolman in charge of KCM Golf Challenge

Pieter Moolman. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour

Pieter Moolman is leading the KCM Golf Challenge at the Nchanga Golf Club in Zambia on 12-under par heading into the weekend, after signing for a solid two under par 69 on Friday.

Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi finished with a strong nine under par 63 and is just one shot from the leader Moolman in second place on 11-under par.

Moolman followed up an opening round of 63 with a solid second round that included four birdies with only one dropped shot. He feels however that there is still room for improvement.

“Today was not as good as yesterday. I felt like I didn’t hit the ball as good and as close as I did yesterday.

“I hit a lot of good putts but didn’t make a lot of them. That goes hand in hand with being too far from the hole. On these greens you want to give yourself the best chance with short putts.”

Moolman’s fourth and most recent Sunshine Tour title came in October of last year at the Limpopo Championship but he has been struggling since then to hit top form.

“My golf swing is not fully on point where I want it to be, it is still a work in progress since last year. When I am on, I hit it extremely well but when I’m slightly off, I feel like I don’t hit the exact shots that I want. It makes it a little bit interesting” Moolman said.

Leading by two shots heading into the weekend, Moolman is looking forward to what might be, especially with the course offering scoring opportunities.

“There’s still a lot of golf over the next two rounds. This is a shortish golf course so if you attack and hit it nicely, you will have a lot of short birdie opportunities. You need short birdie putts to overpower this course, as there is a bit of forgiveness. I will play the best I think I can and try and stay aggressive. I am happy to be somewhere near the top as you always give yourself the best chance to be in the mix, so let’s see what happens.”

The South African quartet of Ethan Smith (67), Stals Swart (68), Kyle Barker (63) and Toto Thimba Jnr (68) is well placed on 10-under par in joint third place, with the first round leader Oliver Goldhill and Chile’s Agustin Errazuriz one shot further back on nine under par.

Robson Chinhoi. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour

Scores

12 - Pieter Moolman 63 69

-11 - Robson Chinhoi 70 63

-10 - Ethan Smith 67 67

-10 - Stals Swart 66 68, Kyle Barker 71 63, Toto Thimba Jnr 66 68

-9 - Oliver Goldhill 65 70

-9 - Agustin Errazuriz 68 67

-8 - Kyle De Beer 70 66

-8 - Haydn Porteous 70 66, Allen John 68 68

-7 - Graham van der Merwe 68 69

-7 - Stephen Ferreira 68 69

-6 - Martin Rohwer 70 68

-6 - Christiaan Burke 69 69, Cole Stevens 68 70, Matt Millar 72 66, Dillon Germshuys 71 67, Gabriel Morgan 72 66, Stuart Krog 70 68, Jacques P de Villiers 70 68

-5 - Quintin Wilsnach 70 69

-5 - Lyle Rowe 68 71, Ruan Korb 70 69, Ronald Rugumayo 70 69

-4 - Samuel Simpson 70 70

-4 - Drikus Joubert 71 69, Estiaan Conradie 65 75, Keegan Mclachlan 69 71, Keagan Bwalya 73 67, Rowan Lester 69 71, Jacques Blaauw 70 70, Tristen Strydom 69 71, James Mack 71 69, Gustavo Silva 72 68

-3 - Kian Rose 72 69

-3 - Otto Van Buynder 68 73, Jaco Prinsloo 65 76, Benjamin Kedochim 69 72, Matthew Spacey 73 68, Kyle McClatchie 74 67, Ricky Hendler 73 68, Wynand Dingle 70 71, Jason Roets 71 70, Tomas Gana 74 67

-2 - Nikhil Rama 72 70

-2 - Jordan Burnand 69 73, Ruben Van Der Berg 71 71, Joe Sullivan 71 71, Travis Procter 73 69, Keenan Davidse 70 72, Ryan van der Klis 68 74

-1 - Brody Harbinson 71 72

-1 - Altin van der Merwe 70 73, Daniel Cronje 70 73, Benjamin Van Wyk 75 68, Simon du Plooy 69 74, Paul Adam Chidale 73 70, Liam Grehan 73 70, JJ Senekal 71 72, Neil Schietekat 73 70, Morton Muwowo 70 (+1) [15]

Missed the cut

Par - Merrick Bremner 71 73

Par - Carlos Bustos 72 72, Visitor Mapwanya 74 70, Jaden Deltel 75 69, Njoroge Kibugu 73 71, Luke Brown 71 73, Warwick Purchase 73 71, Vuyisani Makama 73 71, Conner Mackenzie 72 72, Tristan Leonard 74 70, Brandon Pieters 72 72

+1 - Gabriel Chibale 70 75

+1 - Brandon-Lee Geere 75 70, Dayne Moore 72 73, Hayden Griffiths 77 68, Darren Neyt 74 71, Keanu Pestana 73 72, Cosmas Mufaya 70 (+3) [15]

+2 - Kelvin Chibuye 74 72

+2 - Lyle Pedro 76 70, Keagan Thomas 71 75, Luke Jerling 72 74, Jordan Duminy 74 72, Pierre Pellegrin 73 73, Martin Leon 75 71

+3 - Raphael Phiri 74 73

+4 - Dominic Musonda 74 74

+4 - Stalian Daka 76 72, Thabang Simon 75 73, Rhys West 74 74, Michael Chuma 74 74

+5 - Rhys Enoch 73 76

+5 - Rigardt Albertse 74 75, Rupert Kaminski 74 75, Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 73 76

+6 - Adam Breen 73 77

+6 - Carter Rowe 75 75

+7 - Tristin Galant 77 74

+7 - Simon Lumbwe 79 72

+8 - Gilbert Chalwe 73 79

+8 - Musambo Kapoma JNR 75 77, Innocent Chalwe 73 79

+9 - Vincent Kabaso 78 75

+9 - Shaydon Johnson 79 74, Lwazi Gqira 78 75, Leonard Chibwe 80 73, Shaunak Rama 75 78, Madalitso Muthiya 78 75

+10 - Biggie Chibvuri 78 76

+10 - Bradley Kulaisi 75 79, Sydney Joseph Wemba 77 77, Michael Wallace 72 82, Albert Venter 75 79

+11 - Joseph Malembe 80 75

+11 - Denmark Mulambo 77 78

+12 - Ntengwa Mukosa 79 77

+12 - Nicholas Lavarone 79 (+5) [15]

+13 - Dezzie Ngandu 79 78

+13 - Beza Daka 77 80

+15 - Darlington Chikayambidze 87 72

+17 - Panji Phiri 82 79

WDN - Aaron Simfukwe Jnr 74 WDN

For full scores visit www.sunshinetour.com