Dubuisson takes the lead at Sun City

It was another tough day in Africa as the Gary Player Country Club again refused to yield to the charms of this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge field, including even those she’s got a soft spot for.

So it’s perhaps apt that in a field of 72 players, it’s the Frenchman who was able to charm her best.

Victor Dubuisson, who finished in a share of third place here last year, came through a challenging day of gusting winds and lightning delays and claimed a two-stroke lead on six under par following a 70 in which he bogeyed the last after returning to play his final three holes following the suspension of play late in the afternoon.

Chasing him on four under is two-time Nedbank Golf Challenge champion Lee Westwood and South African Darren Fichardt, who is having a remarkable tournament that at the beginning of the week he wasn’t even eligible for.

Fichardt was the first reserve after Anthony Wall had to withdraw.

“I got the call on Wednesday night that I was first reserve.

So I decided to drive here on Thursday morning, not too concerned about actually getting in. When I was about 12kms from Sun City I phoned the European Tour secretary and I said, ‘What's the chances?’

“She said, ‘Just hang on quickly’, and then came back saying Anthony Wall had pulled out and I was in. ‘But there’s one thing,’ she said.

‘You’re teeing off at nine o’clock. Where are you? At the clubhouse? On the range?

“I said, ‘I’m actually 12kms out, so I’m going to be coming in pretty hot’. I still can't believe I’m playing.”

It’s no surprise that he’s still smiling despite the tough conditions.

Westwood signed for a 70 and Fichardt a 69 on Friday. And both have an affinity with this golf course, so their assessment of how difficult it played provides the necessary perspective.

“I think this was probably one of the toughest days I’ve ever experienced on this course tee-to-green with the wind today,” said Westwood, a two-time winner of this event.

“It was as strong as I’ve ever seen around here, and not only was it picking up and dropping, it was changing directions as well. I think there are a few confused caddies at the end of 18 holes today.”

But Westwood will not mind the tough conditions too much, knowing this course as well as he does.

“Experience is everything around this golf course. I’ve been coming here since 1998 and played it a lot and been successful around it. The harder the conditions, the better it will be for me over the course of the week.”

Fichardt also knows this course well, and was a winner here in the 2004 Dimension Data Pro-Am.

“In these conditions you’ve just got to take what you can get. All you can do is pick a shot you want to hit, commit to it, and if it doesn’t work out, what can you do. But you’ve got to obviously make sure if it does gust that you’ve still got a chance to get up-and-down. That’s why I wasn’t taking on flags because in case the gust comes up and then you’re in really big trouble. So you’ve just got to really think your way around and minimise mistakes.”

The challenge of the golf course on Friday was a common theme throughout the top end of the leaderboard.

“This week is a big challenge for me because mentally you have to be quite strong on this golf course. There aren’t too many opportunities out there, especially with this wind,” said Tyrell Hatton, who heads into the weekend on three under par.

“The wind was tricky because it wasn’t consistent. It plays a lot with your mind,” added Ross Fisher, also on three under.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who finished the day on one under, summed it best.

“It’s just such a tough golf course. I can tell you that nobody is going to run away with it this weekend. Every hole can just jump up and bite you. I don’t think double figures will win. I think it will be under double figures.”