Joel Girrbach climbs into the Top 10 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, while Marcel Siem tumbles down the leaderboard.
The second event of the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing continued on Friday with Round 2 of the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Still named after the London-based tobacco and luxury goods brand that began sponsoring the event in the 1990s, the tournament is being held on the historic East Course at Royal Johannesburg Golf Club in South Africa.
Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra couldn’t quite replicate his near-record 63 from Thursday but held onto his lead with a solid 66 (-6). The 25-year-old opened with an eagle on the first hole and added three birdies on the front nine. Despite back-to-back bogeys on holes 10 and 11, he recovered with three more birdies on the back nine to finish at 15-under-par, maintaining a narrow lead atop the leaderboard.
Close behind is South Africa’s Jayden Schaper, who carded a bogey-free 64 with four birdies on both the front and back nine. At 13-under-par, the 24-year-old sits two shots behind Chacarra. England’s John Parry and South Africa’s Branden Grace share third place. Parry matched his opening 66, while Grace posted a 67 with six birdies and one bogey.
DP World Tour: Joel Girrbach breaks into Top 10
Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach surged up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 66 (-6) on Friday, improving 30 spots from his opening round of 69. With six birdies, the 32-year-old now sits tied for 10th at 9-under-par.
Germany’s Marcel Schneider also improved significantly. Despite a double bogey on hole 2 and a bogey on 10, he balanced his round with two eagles on holes 8 and 18 and five additional birdies. His 66 (-6) moved him up 44 places to T17 at 8-under-par overall.
Siem barely makes the cut, Bachem misses out
Marcel Siem struggled early with three consecutive bogeys on holes 2, 3, and 4. He added two birdies on the front nine but suffered a double bogey on the 15th. Finishing the day one over par, his strong 67 from Thursday helped him narrowly make the cut at 4-under-par. Siem dropped 38 spots to T51 on the leaderboard.
Fellow German Nick Bachem narrowly missed the cut. After an even-par round on Friday and a 70 (-2) on Thursday, the 26-year-old finished T80, just one stroke shy of continuing into the weekend.