A late birdie blitz from Henrik Stenson took the Swede into a one-shot lead at 11 under par after the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club Friday. Stenson, joint overnight leader with South African Jaco van Zyl, heads the 30-man field after carding a 67 in a round that was truly a tale of two halves. The 39-year-old had a strong opening nine holes Thursday and faltered coming home, but it was the reverse in his second round. He turned at level par after three bogeys in a row between the sixth and eighth holes left him two shots behind Van Zyl, but five birdies on the back nine gave Stenson the advantage going into the weekend. It was a thrilling comeback for a player who had suffered with flu during the week and fretted he would not be able to take his place in the field. Van Zyl carded a 68 including an eagle and two birdies, but battled with the pace of the greens and left a number of putts short. Two shots off the lead was American Robert Streb, whose round of 66 was spoiled by bogeys on 16 and 17 that robbed him of a share of the lead. Australian Marc Leishman, who holed five birdies in his round of 68, was a further shot back. England's Lee Westwood, a former world No. 1 and twice winner of the tournament, dropped well out of contention when he carded a nine-over-par 81 including a triple-bogey, double-bogey and six further dropped shots. — Reuters
