Pair of 59's at golf tournament in honor of Nelson Mandela
December 13, 2013 -- Updated 1846 GMT (0246 HKT)
(CNN) -- South Africa's Colin Nel went into the second round of the Nelson Mandela Championship facing an early exit after shooting an opening seven-over 77 and finished it by achieving one of golf's most elusive feats -- a round of 59.
It catapulted Nel up the leaderboard from 138th into the top 20 but astonishingly his score was also matched Friday by Jorge Campillo of Spain.
Campillo improved a mere 11 shots on his opening level-par 70 to be one behind leader Daniel Brooks when play was halted.
England's Brooks shot a 62 in his opening round and was through 11 holes of his second. The European Tour event has been reduced to 54 holes after being hit by thunderstorms and heavy rain.
That also has implications for Nel and Campillo as their scores will not count for the record books because players were allowed to use preferred lies on the rain-sodden fairways at Mount Edgecombe.
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That ruling means players can pick up their ball on the fairway and place it -- but not nearer the hole -- to achieve a fair lie.
Nevertheless, Nel and Campillo played superb golf, with the latter shooting seven birdies and two eagles to contend for overall victory.
He held the clubhouse lead at 11-under 129 with Matthew Baldwin of England, who shot a second round 62.
Branden Grace was tied with fellow South African Oliver Bekker on 10-under 130 -- one shot back.
The tournament started a day early than scheduled so as to avoid a clash with Nelson Mandela's funeral Sunday, but has been hit by lengthy delays on all three days of play.
Meanwhile, Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose shared the lead at the halfway stage of the $1 million Thailand Championship at Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.
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Garcia, chasing his first win of 2013, shot a hole in one during his seven-under 65 for 11-under 133.
U.S. Open champion Rose carded a 68 to leave the pair two clear of overnight leader Alex Cejka of Germany, France's Alexander Levy and India's Anirban Lahiri.
America's Rickie Fowler shot a superb eight-under 64 to be a shot further back while in-form Henrik Stenson moved into contention with a 67 to lie joint seventh.
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