Tournament officials at the Joburg Open were greeted by welcome sunshine on Saturday morning after two days of weather disruptions at the Houghton course in Johannesburg. Rain and lightning had plagued the opening rounds, but the improved conditions allowed the second round to be wrapped up early on Saturday before players headed out for round three.
England's Brandon Robinson-Thompson, who finished his second round on Friday before play was suspended, maintains the lead on 128 (-12). He holds a three-shot advantage over American Sean Crocker on 131 (-8), while Sweden's Hugo Towsend and England's Jack Hawksby share the next spot on 132 (-8). South Africans Luke Brown and Louis Albertse sit on 133 (-7) alongside England's Nathan Kimsey and France's David Ravetto, with compatriots Casey Jarvis, Jayden Schaper and Hennie du Plessis among a group on 134 (-6).
Meanwhile, American Daniel Berger has stormed to a commanding five-shot lead after two rounds of the Arnold Palmer Tournament at Bay Hill Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, part of the PGA Tour. Berger carded rounds of 63 and 68 to reach 131 (-13), putting him well clear of fellow American Akshay Bhatia on 136 (-8). Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala and Sweden's Ludwig Aåberg are tied for third on 137 (-7), while Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy sits in a share of ninth at 140 (-4) and Scottie Scheffler of America is on 141 (-3).
South African amateur Daniel Bennett, just 20 years old, impressed on his PGA Tour debut after receiving an invitation from organisers, sitting on 142 (-2). Bennett was born in Botswana and attended primary school in Zimbabwe before his family relocated to Durban in 2019. He later attended boarding school in Pretoria and is currently studying on a scholarship at Texas University.
At the LIV Series event in Hong Kong, South Africa's Dean Burmester remains firmly in contention at -15, trailing joint leaders Jon Rahm, Harold Varner III and Thomas Detry by just two strokes heading into Saturday's third round. Burmester shares fourth place with Carlos Ortiz, while fellow South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace are on -9 and Charl Schwartzel on -7. In the team standings, Smash lead on -44, ahead of 4Aces (-42), Legion XIII (-41) and the South African Southern Guard squad on -40.
