“I’m feeling confident about the weekend. Like I said yesterday, the putter has been a bit cold for a couple of weeks but I’m hitting the ball nicely and rolling in a few putts now. It was really nice to finish with a birdie. Whenever you can hit that green in two or be able to go for it, you have to hit a good shot, so it's really pleasing to end the round like that.”

“It was another solid round,” said Burnand. “It started off difficult with one or two bogeys, and then I got the momentum going. I had birdies on five and six and then it was about playing percentage golf, which is key on this course.

“The eagle was cool. I hit a great drive and then a 9-iron to about 15 feet and holed the putt down the hill. It really kick-started the round, and I could build from there. It’s always nice to finish birdie-birdie, and making one on the 18th hole is always special. I’m very happy with the round.”

Overnight leader Matthew Bramford slipped down the leaderboard after a 2-over 74 to finish the round in fourth place at 5-under, while top-ranked player Christiaan Maas carded a 3-under 69 to remain in the hunt on four-under.

Issa Abou Ela matched van der Merwe’s 7-under 65 to finish the second round T6 alongside Simon du Plooy on three-under-par.

The Egyptian rolled in eight birdies in a prolific performance, including a near hole-in-one at the 16th, with the only blemish to his card coming with a bogey at the par-5 2nd.

“I can't put into words how hard this golf course is so to be able to shoot 65, honestly, it's a score that I'll never forget,” said Ela.

“I almost had a hole-in-one on 16. I got sent some videos from people back home, especially my family, and realised it just missed the hole. A round like that gives me a lot of confidence and I’ve managed to put myself in position after the second  round. I’m looking forward to the weekend and whatever happens, happens.”

The cut fell on 14-over-par with 40 players advancing.

Kyra van Kan still holds the lead in the Africa Amateur Women’s Invitational after a one-under-par 71.

The South African recovered from back-to-back double bogeys before the turn to maintain her nerve and respond with three birdies in a row during the back nine.

The 18-year-old sits six shots ahead of compatriot Gia Raad on a one-under-par total of 143.

“I got off to a good start and was two-under through six holes but unfortunately I messed up on seven and eight and made two doubles in a row,” said van Kan.

“I was back to square one but I just pulled myself together and refocused. Then I played really nicely on the back nine and made three birdies in a row on 13, 14 and 15. I was really happy to par the 18th hole. That hole doesn't sit particularly well with me. I'm glad I finished pretty well today.”