Matthieu Pavon and Max Homa hold the halfway lead in South Africa, with England's Dan Bradbury one behind; Tommy Fleetwood four back alongside Justin Thomas as he chases a threepeat at Sun City; Watch the third round live on Saturday from 9am on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 10 November 2023 18:06, UK
Max Homa continued his bogey-free start to retain a share of the halfway lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, as Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood both moved back into contention.
Homa - the highest-ranked player in the field - followed Thursday's blemish-free 66 by carding four birdies in a second-round 68 at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, seeing him head into the weekend on 10 under alongside Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.
A final-hole bogey dropped England's Dan Bradbury a shot back into third, while Danish duo Thorbjorn Olesen and Nicolai Hojgaard head into the weekend within two of the lead after rounds of 66 and 70 respectively.
Scotland's Richie Ramsay is three back as he looks to move inside the top 50 of the Race to Dubai standings and qualify for next week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship, while Thomas and defending champion Fleetwood are both four back at the halfway stage.
Pavon carded a two-putt birdie at the par-five second and converted from 20 feet at the sixth for the first of three birdies in a four-hole stretch, with a brilliant eagle at the par-five 10th jumping him into the solo advantage.
A birdie at the 14th was undone by a missed par-save attempt from seven feet at the next, although a six-under 66 equalled the lowest round of the day and saw him set the initial clubhouse target.
Homa made a three-putt par at the second after reaching the par-five green in two and followed an eight-foot birdie at the sixth by missing an opportunity from inside five feet at the eighth.
The American responded to failing to take advantage of the par-five ninth by getting up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the 10th, with Homa converting from eight feet at the 14th and 15th feet at the 17th to move into a share of the lead.
"Very similar to yesterday," Homa said. "I caught a lot of edges with the putter but I felt like I had a lot of good looks and played really smartly. I just made it pretty stress-free, it felt good and I hit a lot of fairways, so it was a nice easy day."
Bradbury drained a 50-footer at the seventh and cancelled out a bogey at the next by posting back-to-back birdies around the turn, with the Englishman picking up shots at the 13th and 15th to also get to 10 under.
He bogeyed the par-three 16th but birdied the next to temporarily make it a three-way tie again at the top, only for him to fail to save par at the last and slip back a shot behind.
Fleetwood - looking to win the event for a third consecutive time - jumped to six under after a five-under 67, while Thomas is also in tied-eighth after recovering from an opening-hole bogey to fire seven birdies in a second-round 66.
Watch the Nedbank Golf Challenge throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 9am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more with NOW.
