Charl Schwartzel upbeat after back nine blitz

Four birdies on the bounce to start the back nine has Charl Schwartzel in good spirits ahead of the second round of the BMW SA Open, writes WADE PRETORIUS at Glendower.

The popular South African played well enough on the front nine but a bogey on the first and a second dropped shot on the eighth saw him behind the pace at the second oldest national championship in the world.

‘I thought I played well on the front nine but it didn’t just go my way,’ he told Compleat Golfer.

Playing alongside first round co-leader Branden Grace, Schwartzel blitzed the back nine with four birdies in a row to start.

‘The back nine is a little easier so I was happy to get the ball rolling there. It clicked in and I hit some great shots and that put me back into the tournament.’

Schwartzel got to four under for the round but gave one away late on with a bogey four on the 17th to sit in the group on T17 behind Grace and Chase Koepka, who lead at seven under.

‘There’s a long way to go and even if my second nine didn’t go like it did, there’s still 54 holes and you can do so much on this golf course. I enjoyed it out there, I played well and had some good feelings and putted nicely which is important.

‘If I can keep doing that then I’m sure that I can shoot some low scores.’

Part of the feature group, the local hopes were firmly on Grace and Schwartzel to entertain but the 2011 Masters champion was able to put those expectations aside and concentrate on his game.

‘Most of the expectation, starting here in 2018, was put on by myself and not anybody else or the fans. There are a few things I’m working on and I’m keen for them to work.’

After an opening 69, Schwartzel insists that there will be no change to his plans tomorrow – his group is off at 07:10 – as he looks to repeat much of what he did today perhaps with a few better bounces.

‘I can definitely see a 64 or even a 63 out there,’ added Schwartzel.