Bad weather threatens to disrupt the Joburg Open, with Jayden Schaper (picture) impressing by outscoring Patrick Reed and maintaining his top SA player status amid his rising world rankings. Picture: Sunshine Tour
Image: Sunshine Tour
After Thursday’s first round of the Joburg Open was interrupted by heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area, the prospects of completing the tournament as scheduled by Sunday are unclear with more bad weather predicted this weekend.
The first round was not completed on Thursday, and a number of players had to return on Friday to complete their first 18.
With a 61% chance of rain on Friday and 25% on Saturday, it remains to be seen if there are further delays.
It’s been raining most of the week in Johannesburg, and though the course has excellent drainage, any further delays will begin to mount.
SA’s Luke Brown led proceedings on Thursday on seven under, but when he returned on Friday to complete his final seven holes, he dropped three shots to fall back down the leaderboard.
It’s a prime example of how weather delays can wreak havoc during a tournament.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Jayden Schaper carded a bogey-free opening six-under 65 to lie on stroke adrift overnight.
Paired with top-ranked player in the field, American Patrick Reed, Schaper outscored his much-fancied opponent by five.
Schaper won back-to-back events on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and then the Mauritius Open. Those triumphs were also Schaper’s first two on the DPWT for the professional who turns 25 in mid-March.
His play has seen him rise as high as 49th in the world earlier this year, and he currently holds the 57th position in the world and is the top-ranked SA player in the men’s game at the moment.