March 16: South Africa’s Justin Harding hauled himself back into contention after firing a second round six-under-par 65 to head into the weekend rounds five shots back of compatriot and leader Louis De Jager at the Kenya Open on Friday.

Like his back-to-back victories in Indonesia and Thailand on the Asian Tour last year, Harding, who triumphed in Qatar last week, is also chasing a back-to-back-win on the European Tour and become the first player to do so in Europe since Justin Rose achieved that feat in 2017.

The world number 52 is currently tied for fourth alongside Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, who slipped one place down the leaderboard after signing for a 70 at the Karen Country Club.

“I was a little bit more aggressive today as you have to get it in close here as it can be awkward in places. You have to pick and choose your moments here and I did that well out there.

“I have been trying to make less mistakes recently and I went over the green just once today – that wasn’t the case yesterday – so I am really happy with my performance,” said Harding.

Ends.