Cumbrian star Gary Lockerbie comfortably made the cut at the South African Open when he fired a second round 69.

With his first round 72 it enabled him to reach the halfway stage on 141 – three under par and two shots inside the cut.

A birdie on the 18th hole just gave the Penrith player a little more breathing space as there were still other golfers out on the course.

Michael Lorenzo-Vera holds a two shot lead after a second round 65. The Frenchman's seven under par effort at Pearl Valley Golf Estates took him to 12 under for the tournament, two strokes clear of the challenging pack.

But the 23 year old faces stiff competition over the weekend with four time winner Ernie Els, World Number Ten Lee Westwood, three time European Tour winner Charl Schwartzel and Volvo China Open champion Damien McGrane all hot on his heels at ten under par.

Lorenzo-Vera - who briefly led on the opening day when he completed the front nine in 31 before fading on the way in- started at the tenth and was two under at the turn thanks to birdies on the tenth and 18th.

For the second day running he picked up five shots on the front nine and his bogey free round set him clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Westwood added a 68 to build on his opening 66, with five birdies and a single bogey in his first round.

He said: “I gave myself a lot of chances, when I missed the green my short game was good. I felt I rolled the ball better on the greens.

“I don't want to put any unneeded pressure on myself. I've not won all year and it would be nice to win this year, and also starting this Race to Dubai, it would be nice to get some momentum in that. It would also be good just to finish off the year solidly. I've played good all year, and I'm continuing to do it this week.”

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