Tandi McCallum looking to seal the deal at Cape Town Ladies Open

Johannesburg - Tandi McCallum made two birdies and four bogeys on Thursday on her way to a two-over-par 76 and the 36-hole lead in the Sunshine Ladies Tour’s SunBet Cape Town Ladies Open at Royal Cape Golf Club.

It was a day of rapidly changing weather in the second round, but the overnight leader was able to navigate the conditions well enough to be one clear of Cara Gorlei, Thalia Martin and Nicole Garcia, who shared second on two-over-par overall.

“It was quite a mixed bag today,” said McCallum. “Conditions were very varied. It started off with a lot more rain than yesterday. There was still a bit of a north-wester, but not nearly as hard, so the rain was coming straight down, rather than sideways.

“But the course had a lot of rain overnight, so the ball stopped dead off the tee and on the greens. It was very much target golf, but it was playing quite heavy. Club selection was a lot more challenging today because the ball wasn’t flying as far. Then the clouds burnt off and the sun came out, so the ball started going a bit further and we had to adjust again for the changing conditions.

“I started swinging a little freer as all the rain gear came off, so the front nine and the back nine were two very different nines and you had to keep your wits about you.”

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The tale of two halves could be seen on McCallum’s scorecard, with three of her bogeys coming on the front nine within the first five holes. But there was only one dropped shot on the homeward nine, and, with her birdie on the 11th, that meant she came home in level-par to be one-over heading into the final round.

For McCallum, seeking her first title since her 2014 Sun International Challenge