The top 118 on the money list retain their cards on the European Tour, so this week and next in Hong Kong are crucial to many of the guys around that number. For example Simon Wakefield at 124 is not playing in Hong Kong next week, and he went out and shot -5 67 to stand T14 with his season on the line this weekend.
It's the same story for the leader, Scotland's Steven O'Hara, also fighting for his European Tour life, who leads this SA Open Championship on his own after a second round 68 at Serengeti.
Without a win in 222 events going back a decade and down in 134th place on The Race to Dubai, the 31 year old kept a bogey off his card to reach -11 at halfway.
Twice winner Retief Goosen and his fellow South African Merrick Bremner are right on his heels at -10, and five-time champion Ernie Els is far from out of things five behind at -6 after a second successive 69.
Unless he finishes in the top five to earn himself a place in next week's UBS Hong Kong Open, this is O'Hara's last opportunity to keep his European Tour card.To do it in one go he will now need to be in the top three on Sunday as Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin - the player in the vital 118th position - survived the cut with nothing to spare at -2.
For a full leaderboard click
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2011/tournamentid=2011086/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
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