Ballantine’s Championship, More Weather Delay’s.

Lightning on the  Blackstone Golf Course in South Korea has caused further delays during the second round at the Ballantine’s Championship. Round 2 is due to be completed on Saturday morning.

Arnond Vongvanij / European Tour

 Wade Ormsby and Arnond Vongvanij are the current leaders in the clubhouse on -7 under par for their completed rounds. Wade had a -5 under par effort and -3 under par for Arnond.

Alexander Noren, James Morrison and Jbe Kruger are tied in third position, they are following very close behind on -6 under par. James Morrison had a marvelous -6 under par 66 round to put him in contention.

In a senior moment yesterday I wrongly stated that there were no Americans in this Tournament, due to the political situation between the USA and North Korea. I am grateful to Rodd D Starkey to point out that there are indeed Americans contesting here, despite the absence of the two big names Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson, who decided not to travel. You can catch up with Ross and his blog here;  http://letstalkgolf.co.uk/

Of the Americans who are in South Korea, the best placed player is Berry Henson, a -2 under par round today has him tied in eighth place. Jason Knutzon is tied in 31st spot at -2 under par, with Peter Uihlein currently at +1 over par, tied in 66th place. Peter has four holes left tomorrow in his second round to find a birdie and make the cut, which is at par at the moment. Missing the cut will be American Johnathan Moore, who is sadly at +12 over par.

Maybank Malaysian Open, completion of 2nd round

The lightening storm suspended  Maybank Malaysian Open second round has been completed, with the top three on the leaderboard all South Africans. Louis Oosthuizen leads the way at -10 under par after a -4 second round, with Jbe Kruger and Hennie Otto just one shot back at -9 under par. Joining them at that score was Scotlands Stephen Gallagher who had a -4 under par round of 68. Biggest surprise was the +3 over par round of 75 from Charl Schwartzel, one of the leaders from the first round.

Louis Oosthuizen (Getty Images)

Maybank Maylasian Open, 2nd round play suspended

Play was suspended at the Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country club, due to a lightening storm. Before the storm some players had finished their rounds including Hennie Otto and Jbe Kruger who currently sit atop the leaderboard on -9 under par. Hennie with an -8 under par 64 and Jbe had a -7 under round of 65.

Jbe Kruger (Getty Images)

Jbe Kruger spoke about the strong South African presence at the Maybank Malaysian Open;

“I think all of us South Africans are coming into this tournament with a little bit of form coming back. I spoke to Charl and  he said he was struggling in the last couple of weeks. I was struggling as well so I guess we are just coming back into form. I have been playing well recently and we are taking small steps and gradually getting there. Most of the work that I have been doing is really on the mental side as opposed to the technical side of things and I am sticking with and trying to build on that momentum.”

We will see how things unfold when play restarts tomorrow, the guys who had finished their rounds will have plenty of time to relax and recuperate before they tee it up again. The others will have to finish round two and then go straight into round three.

Jbe Kruger Wins Avantha Masters in New Delhi

Jbe Kruger won his first tour event at the Avantha Masters tournament in New Delhi. This is Jbe’s 38th event and with this win moves to around 110th in the Official World Ranking from 159th. This  European Tour International Schedule victory gives him  €341,485  in The Race to Dubai.

Also he is the second first-time winner of the 2012 European Tour season, following Branden Grace (Joburg Open). This victory continues South Africa’s recent run of success on The European Tour, they have won six of the last ten European Tour events.Jbe also gains a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2014 season.

Jbe Kruger (Getty Images)

 

Jbe Kruger Heads Tightly Packed Leaderboard in New Delhi

Jbe Kruger will take a one shot lead into the final round of the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf & Country Club in New Delhi. The top 15 on the board are separated by only 3 shots going into the last round. One shot behind Kruger is Peter Whiteford, who is still contending for his maiden victory. Jbe had two eagles and two birdies in a round of 66 which left him 11 under par for the tournament, thanks mainly to a bogey free third round. He will need more of the same tomorrow to keep the tightly packed bunch behind him and lift the trophy himself.

Jbe Kruger (Getty Images