Simpson retains lead as lightning suspends play in Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship

[Friday, November 28, 2025 22:40:26]

Samuel Simpson. Credit: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour.

Samuel Simpson retained his lead in the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship at St Francis Links, but with lightning having forced a suspension of Friday’s second round.

Simpson climbed to 10 under par overall through 12 holes of his second round when play was suspended shortly after 15:00 because of lightning. The round will resume at 07:00 on Saturday.

He is currently one stroke clear of Deon Germishuys, who had also completed 12 holes when play was suspended.

Joe Long made it into the clubhouse on eight under par with a second round of 69.

Simpson’s gameplan for the day was to keep the ball in play and focus on making pars. He started his second round exactly in that way, with seven consecutive pars. He had a bogey on the eighth hole, but then birdied three of his next four holes.

“Fairways and greens are the top priority around here. It takes a lot of the stress away, so my gameplan is to just make pars. I’m trying to put the ball in the best places possible and manage my misses as best I can. If I can keep hitting the greens in regulation, hopefully I will be OK,” he said.

Germishuys is challenging once again on the Sunshine Tour. He’s finished in the top-10 in his last three tournaments. His second round started with five birdies in his opening seven holes to give him another shot at a victory.

Luke Jerling has just made three straight birdies to climb to eight under par when play was suspended.
Jacques Blaauw is in the clubhouse on seven under following a solid 65, while Zander Lombard’s comeback continues to gain momentum as he sits on seven under through nine holes.

The Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship is proudly supported by Stinger GC, Momentum, Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA), Kouga Municipality, Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Cape St Francis, Telkom and the PGA of South Africa.

SCORES (incomplete round)

-10 - Samuel Simpson 64 (-2) [12]
-9 - Deon Germishuys 70 (-7) [12]
-8 - Joe Long 67 69, Luke Jerling 69 (-5) [12]
-7 - Jacques Blaauw 72 65, Zander Lombard 71 (-6) [9]
-6 - Jason Roets 71 67, Keenan Davidse 71 67, Rupert Kaminski 68 70, Hayden Griffiths 67 (-1) [9]
-5 - Barend Botha 74 65, Hennie O'Kennedy 73 66, Hennie du Plessis 66 (+1) [9]
-4 - Jean-Paul Strydom 72 68, JJ Senekal 71 69, Graham van der Merwe 71 69, Jean Hugo 71 69, Stuart Krog 72 68, Bryce Easton 67 (+1) [12], Pieter Moolman 70 (-2) [12], George Coetzee 69 (-1) [12], Wilco Nienaber 72 (-4) [12], Quintin Wilsnach 68 (Par) [9]
-3 - Toto Thimba Jnr 71 70, Benjamin Van Wyk 74 67, Ruan Conradie 71 70, Jaco Prinsloo 71 70, Casey Jarvis 75 66, Jordan Burnand 72 69, Tomas Gana 72 (-3) [12], Brandon Stone 74 (-5) [12], Dean Burmester 72 (-3) [12], CJ du Plessis 71 (-2) [9]
-2 - Nikhil Rama 71 71, Herman Loubser 75 67, Heinrich Bruiners 72 70, Christiaan Burke 74 68, Martin Vorster 73 69, MJ Viljoen 73 69, Rhys West 72 70, Peter Karmis 74 68, Matthew Spacey 71 (-1) [15], Robson Chinhoi 70 (Par) [12], Ronald Rugumayo 70 (Par) [12], Rowan Lester 70 (Par) [6]
-1 - Jaco Ahlers 74 69, Keagan Thomas 76 67, Rhys Enoch 73 70, Stephen Ferreira 73 70, Stals Swart 71 72, Dylan Mostert 72 71, Thomas Spreadborough 73 (-2) [12], Tyran Snyders 72 (-1) [9], Malcolm Mitchell 70 (+1) [9], Wynand Dingle 73 (-2) [9], David Amm 69 (+2) [9], Franklin Manchest 70 (+1) [6], Allen John 73 (-2) [6]

 

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