Desvonde Botes staked a claim for his first title on The European Tour when he claimed the clubhouse lead in the early stages of the second round of the Benson and Hedges International Open at The De Vere Belfry.
The 27 year old South African carded his second consecutive 69 on the Brabazon Course to move to six under par 138 for the tournament, the same mark as the overnight leaders Paul McGinley and Henrik Stenson, who would start their second rounds later in the day.
Ironically, things could have been even better for Botes who won the Qualifying School at San Roque last year, but for an uncharacteristic ending to his round where he stumbled to a double bogey six on the 18th.
In the greenside bunker in two, Botes thinned his escape shot over the heads of the gallery from where he had to drop in the designated zone before pitching and two putting for a six to see him drop back from eight under par to six.
“It was unfortunate about the last hole but I would have taken a 69 at the start of play,” he said. “Elsewhere I played very nicely and putted well – I made good birdie putts but also some good putts for par too.
“I’ve had a few back problems in the last few weeks after I played in Qatar and had five weeks off as a result. But it seems to be on the mend and it hasn’t affected me in the last couple of weeks.”
It certainly did not affect Botes in the middle part of his round as he rattled in six birdies in 12 holes from the sixth to the 17th, the highlight being a sublime eight iron approach to the ninth green which finished a mere foot from the pin.
