Hennie du Plessis holed a sensational 17-foot eagle putt on the 18th to take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the BMW International Open.
Related: Jayden Schaper, Hennie du Plessis set the pace in Munich
The South African carded a three under par round of 69 to move to 11 under par at Golfclub München Eichenried, one ahead of countryman Michael Hollick, Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz and Englishman Jack Senior.
Du Plessis is on track for his career-best season on the DP World Tour, having finished in the top five across three consecutive starts on his home continent from late February to early March, and is in the mix to become the tenth first-time winner this season.
The 29-year-old entered the second round with a share of the lead alongside Jayden Schaper, however he made a slow start to the day with seven straight pars before a bogey at the eighth saw him slip down the leaderboard.
After making the turn at one over par for the day, Du Plessis caught fire on the back nine with birdies at the 11th and 13th before a dropped shot at the 15th. He bounced back brilliantly with a birdie at the 16th and a sensational eagle on the par-five 18th to take the outright lead in front of the grandstand.
YouTube star Brad Dalke backed up an opening three under 69 with a 66 on Friday to move into a tie for fifth alongside Paul Waring, Frederic Lacroix and Joe Dean on nine under.
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The American, who was the U.S. Amateur runner-up in 2016 and made Major Championship appearances at the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open in 2017, is making his first appearance in a world-ranked tournament since playing on the Korn Ferry Tour six years ago.
The BMW International Open is the sixth and final event of the DP World Tour’s European Swing. The leading available Member not otherwise exempt from the European Swing Rankings will be exempt into the Genesis Scottish Open next week.
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The first five DP World Tour members, and any DP World Tour members tying for fifth place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings on completion of the BMW International Open will also qualify for The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Player Quotes
Hennie du Plessis: My caddie gave me the perfect yardage, and we sort of agreed on a line, middle green, but I mean I told him you can’t give me a perfect number and not expect me to have a little go at it. So, I’m very pleased with the way I’ve been playing and what a great way to finish that tough day as well.
It’s hard to say. The wind blew a little bit more, so that’s obviously one of the factors, but I think the greens were a little different, good flags, so I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard to follow up a great round yesterday with another one. I think it was just tough out there.
I mean, you said it, it’s patience. That’s the name of the game. It was tough. I mean, I gave myself a lot of good looks. I had a couple of good up and downs early on. It’s tough to feel like you’re hitting the ball well and not really getting rewarded. You need to keep hitting a good shot, so that’s where patience come in. You have to believe that somewhere along the line you’re going to start making a few putts and hitting a few good shots. I think I did that very well.
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Off the tee, it has to be one of your strengths, because I think you do have a very large advantage if you hit it quite long and you manage to hit a few fairways, because the longer par fours become gettable with short irons, wedges. I think if you drive it well, then keep giving yourself putting opportunities. I think that’s pretty much what it is.
I think I’m comfortable with my game. I don’t necessarily say I’m comfortable around this golf course. I think it’s very demanding. As I said, you need to drive it well. Obviously putt well, so I don’t know. It’s hard to say that I’m feeling comfortable. I think I’m just comfortable with my game at the moment.
It’s fun. I haven’t been in contention since Joburg Open and SA Open, so it’s been a good nine to ten weeks since that. I’m very excited, very excited to be in the mix. It’s a pleasure to be in the mix on the DP World Tour, so I’m very happy and grateful.
