Jaco van Zyl carded a fine six-under-par 66 in breezy conditions at Humewood Golf Club in the second round of the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf event, but found himself nine shots off the lead.

First-round leader Daniel Greene went one better than Van Zyl with a second-round 65, and, with his opening 10-under-par 62, he seems to be disappearing into the distance with victory in his pocket.

“When you see someone so far ahead, you try and push the issue a little bit and you end up not always rolling things the way you want to,” said Van Zyl.

But nine shots to make up is not an easy task, although the winner of seven tournaments on the Sunshine Tour is not giving up yet. “The final round is a different ballgame when it comes to pressure,” he said.

“And, we’re in Port Elizabeth,” he laughed. “It depends on the weather tomorrow and a lot of things can still happen.”

But he is up against a player who has not made a single bogey in the first two rounds he has ever played at Humewood.

“I hope I can say the same thing about my round tomorrow, and we’ll see what that does for me,” said the 24-year-old rookie, who celebrates his birthday next week and would love to have his maiden win under his belt as additional cause for festivity.

The quality of the golf he is playing seems to indicate he will be able to raise a glass, as it has left experienced players like Doug McGuigan, Alan Michell, Adilson Da Silva and Shaun Norris struggling in his wake on a respectable seven-under-par – 10 shots adrift!

With the wind picking up, the task will be even more difficult for the afternoon field.