Kinhult had entered Friday tied for second place after a 65 in the opening round at the beautiful course on the border of Kruger National Park, and added seven more birdies to go with three bogeys to move top.
🚨 First leopard spotting of the week 🚨— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) They don't call it Leopard Creek for no reason �#DunhillChamps pic.twitter.com/0UpN2ZRVEZDecember 13, 2024
Dean Burmester, Dale Whitnell and Andrea Pavan are his nearest chasers three behind.
World No.46 Thriston Lawrence, the only player in the 156-man field ranked in the top 50, missed the cut after following up his opening-round 75 with a 72.
The overnight lead had been held by Englishman Andy Sullivan, but he faded with a 73 while Kinhult reached 11 under par, with things warming up during his round and the heat causing problems for the later starters.
Kinhult, whose only European tour title to date came at the 2019 British Masters, said: "I'm super happy with yesterday's round. I feel like I played well today also but I didn't quite take advantage of the par fives. I think that was the only difference.
"But I'm not upset. It was a good score today and I'm looking forward to two more rounds.
"Hopefully we can keep improving and we'll see where that takes us."
