Staff WriterIf you blinked at Wittelsbacher Golfclub on Friday, you might’ve missed JC Ritchie setting the place ablaze.
The South African went on a birdie binge—ten in total—to post a rollercoaster 66 and claim a one-shot lead heading into the weekend at the German Challenge powered by VcG.
That puts Ritchie at 11-under-par for the tournament, perched just above a pair of hungry chasers in Englishman Tom Lewis and Italy’s Enrico di Nitto.
But let’s not sugar-coat it—this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill, paint-by-numbers round. Ritchie’s card looked more like a cardiogram: ten birdies, four bogeys, and the kind of rhythm that would give a metronome anxiety.
“I’m chuffed with that round,” Ritchie said, wearing a grin that could slice through a Bavarian pretzel. “I don’t think there’s much more I could ask for. It was a little bit of a roller coaster out there, but it was mostly good.”
Mostly good might be an understatement. The 31-year-old came out swinging with three birdies straight out of the gate, then reeled off another trio between holes five and seven. By the time the ink dried on his front nine, he was already halfway to double digits in red numbers.
“I was ripping it yesterday and I think I only missed three greens,” he continued. “I got a little unlucky towards the end, but went out confident this morning and absolutely pinned it on the front nine. To keep it hot like that is always fun.”
Ritchie’s confidence has clearly returned after a tough couple of years, which saw him lose his DP World Tour card and spend some time in golfing limbo. But the fire never went out—just ask the leaderboard.
“I think it’s tricky when you’ve got a round like that going, dealing with the nerves. You always feel like you want to win the event now, but that’s why we’re here, to deal with the nerves, and that’s what makes this game awesome,” Ritchie said. “I was happy to be able to manage myself on the back nine and find a couple more birdies coming in.”
The back nine wasn’t exactly a Sunday stroll. He gave a few back with bogeys but rallied to pick up three more red numbers before signing his card.
Now, with four top-10 finishes already this season and a current standing of sixth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, Ritchie is knocking—loudly—on the door of the DP World Tour once more.
“It was tough over the last two years, losing my DP World Tour card and then not getting it back last year,” he reflected. “At the start of this season I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the year.
“I put my head down, grafted, and from the start of season, everything has panned out.
“I’ve done a lot of work this year, through December and into the new year. That hard work and a lot more over the last two or three years is starting to settle in.”
Chasing him into the weekend are a well-heeled pack: France’s Julien Quesne, Spain’s Luis Masaveu, and New Zealand’s Sam Jones, all at nine-under, while Chris Paisley, Joshua Berry, and Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy are lurking just one further back.
Saturday’s third round tees off at 8:00 am local time, with Ritchie paired alongside Lewis and Di Nitto at 11:48 am.
If JC Ritchie keeps that putter sizzling and those nerves in check, he might just be lifting a fifth HotelPlanner Tour trophy—and his first since 2022—by Sunday evening.
Whatever happens, he’s already reminded everyone: don’t count out a guy who’s been to the bottom and clawed his way back with nothing but grit, birdies, and a belief that the best rounds are always still out there.
