Louis Oosthuizen stamped his authority on the Africa Open with a stunning 11 under par round to take the halfway lead.
The defending champion was out early in round two and gave the home crowd plenty to cheer on his way to a flawless 62.
Some big drives on the short par fours helped Oosthuizen to make nine birdies and an eagle 2 on the 308 yard sixth. He soon passed Thomas Aiken’s overnight lead before finishing on -15, two ahead of his fellow countryman.
Oosthuizen, whose wife is expecting their second child, said he was completely focussed on his game while out on the course and the excitement back home provides a welcome distraction off it.
He said: “I just seemed to hit all the right lines and putted really well. The course is in immaculate condition and if the wind doesn’t get up too much there are some really low scores out there.”
A total of 11 out of 13 ISM players made the halfway cut which represents a superb start to 2012 for the stable.
Branden Grace was another South African running amok at East London Golf Club. The qualifying school graduate was looking unlikely to make the cut as he started round two on +4. But an eagle on his second hole and four consecutive birdies on holed one to four contributed to a superb 10 under par 63 – a round only bettered by Oosthuizen.
Rookie Matt Baldwin played like a European Tour veteran to card a superb bogey-free 64 , ending round two on -10. The man from Southport, who secured his card through The Challenge Tour last season, is currently in tied 11th place.
Baldwin is joined by Tyrone Ferreira who has shot back to back 68s in the tournament so far. David Howell continued his impressive start to the season with a solid 69 to reach halfway on -9.
George Coetzee and Allan Versfeld are both -7 while Chris Wood recovered from three bogeys on the bounce to finish -6.
Scott Pinckney birdied four of his last six holes to finish inside the cut mark with nothing to spare on -5. Matt Nixon who, like Pinckney, secured his card through qualifying school, also finished -5 alongside James Kingston.
