Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Oosthuizen is sure there’s a better round out there
Former Open champion among chasing pack looking to end SA drought
IT was a day for history as the Nedbank Golf Challenge witnessed its first hole-in-one in 36 years yesterday. And the South Africans are hoping to add to this with a first home victory in eight years this weekend.
Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti aced the par-3 fourth hole to become the first player to hit a hole-in-one since the tournament teed off in 1981.
“That’s very strange. When the people told me it was the first hole-in-one in the history of the tournament, it sounded strange for me. But then the people from the tournament confirmed it to me. Lucky for me, I’m the first one,” said Zanotti.
It was part of a brilliant start to the second round for him as he birdied his first two holes at the Gary Player Country Club and then made the hole-in-one on his way to a 68 and a share of second place on 6-under par.
Denmark’s Lasse Jensen added to a thrilling second round with his albatross on the par-5 14th.
Sweden’s Alex Noren ended a windy and weather- interrupted second round with a two-stroke lead on 8-under par following a 67.
But among the chasing pack behind him are four South Africans all within four strokes of the lead heading into the weekend.
The last South African to win “Africa’s Major” was Trevor Immelman in 2007.
Louis Oosthuizen, George Coetzee and Jaco van Zyl finished their rounds at 6-under with respective scores of 66, 69 and 69. Branden Grace is at 4-under, following a 69.
“It was tough out there. The wind was all over the place, and you have gusts coming now and then, and it makes it difficult,” Oosthuizen said of a day that included a suspension for lightning and which saw the final group finish by the light of the marquee tents surrounding the 18th green.
“I feel good over the ball. I’m hitting it well and just need to make a few putts. This was a good round to get back into the event. Hopefully I can just build on this.
“Whenever I had a good opportunity for birdie, I took it. You have those days and hopefully I can just build on this. It’s been a while since I’ve made a bogey-free round. I’ll take a lot out of this round today.”
It was a quiet start for the 2010 Open champion, with two birdies in his first eight holes, but then he turned it around the turn with three birdies in a row on nine, 10 and 11. Another on 17, and he had turned things around from a frustrating first round. “It was a tough round yesterday,” he said.
“Felt like I hit the ball really well but couldn’t keep bogeys off my card. It was great to finish level after all that, and then sort of build on momentum going on to today.
“But it was quite tough with the wind. The wind was all over the place, and you have gusts coming now and then, and it makes it difficult. I hit the ball well. I enjoy playing in a little bit of (a) breeze, and shaped the ball a bit more.”
On a course that Oosthuizen knows well and on which he’s had success before he said: “I’ve won the Dimension Data Pro-Am here before. I love this place. I love coming back here. It’s great playing on a great golf course.
“There’s a lot of holes where you think you kind of overpower it by just bombing a driver, but you know, I took the hard route today. I hit a few 3-irons and a lot of 5-woods off the tee just to give myself a mid-iron into the green.”
The 34-year-old is also sure that there is a better round out there. “It’s out there, even with windy conditions, I still left a few out there today,” Oosthuizen said.
“You just need to hit the fairways and give yourself any iron, really, to get to the green and hopefully you see the lines pretty good and make some putts.”
Further down the leaderboard, Grace also took heart with a performance that brought him into contention going into the weekend.
“It was tough out there again. I had a solid day. A couple of ones I left out there, but not a lot of mistakes, which is nice, especially in the wind out there,” Grace said.
While the South African challenge is a strong one, the man they are chasing in Noren who’s won three times on the European Tour this year to climb to 17th on the official world rankings.
“I’ve got to put two great rounds in to beat the other guys. I’m rather ahead than behind,” Noren said.
The third round will feature a two-tee start from 7:45am in anticipation of inclement weather today.
Noren will be a tough customer to chase down, with his three victories on the European Tour in the last four months.
“You gain more confidence in yourself and your ability with winning, but there’s so many good players out here.
“I’ve got to put two great rounds in to beat the other guys. I’d rather be ahead than behind,” the Swede said. – Michael Vlismas, Sunshine Tour