More Major winners to link up at Fancourt
RETIEF Goosen, in the company of compatriot Thomas Aiken and Swede Peter Hedblom, was given the honour of hitting the opening shot yesterday in the European Tour’s 2012 Race to Dubai.
It happened at 6.30am at East London Golf Club on day one of the 1-million (about R10,5-million) Africa Open, which is co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour. Unusually, the inward loop on this splendid, traditional course (it’s a par-73) set among high dunes and dense coastal bush, starts at the ninth hole instead of the 10th, and it’s a long, treacherous par-4.
Goosen pushed his drive slightly into a poor lie in the right rough en route to an opening bogey, Aiken parred and the two South Africans then made regulation threes at the short 10th. Then the fun started. Aiken and the Goose clearly felt that since they were first off, they may as well lead from the front. Five hours later, after five birdies and two eagles in a bogey-free return, Spanish Open champion Aiken was able to sign for a sensational nineunder-par 64.
And two-time US Open champion Goosen wasn’t far behind, with nine birdies – five of them in a row from the 11th – en route to a superb 65. For the record, their betterball score was a heady 14-under-par 59.
It was a birdie-fest of note by the two South Africans, a wonderful exhibition of golf to herald in the new year on tour. And at the end of the day, 28-year-old Aiken was on top of the leaderboard with Goosen just one back alongside a third South African in Jaco Ahlers who made eight birdies in his bogey-free 65.
“I wasn’t quite expecting that, because I’ve just come back from two weeks in the bush when I didn’t pick up a club,” said Aiken. “Come to think of it, when I won last year’s Spanish Open I did so coming off a seven-week break.” This game, it can be a strange thing.
“Although this course can bite you hard if you hit it skew, but if there’s hardly any wind – which was the case this morning – then it’s there for the taking.”
Aiken made some longish putts at 11 (for eagle), and 17 and 18 (for birdies) but what impressed most was his work with his trusted, seven-yearold two-iron. It’s like a magic wand in his hands and, from 230 yards out, he found the green with it at the par-5 11th to set up his three. At the par-5 third hole, also from 230 yards, he hit it like an arrow to just four feet and rolled in the putt.
The Goose, who turns 43 next month and is a long-time servant of the European Tour, said he was honoured to hit the opening shot of the 2012 Race to Dubai. “Then Thomas’ early eagle encouraged me and I made those five straight birdies – I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. Then he kind of fed off me,” added Goose, who witnessed his playing partner making birdies at 16, 17 and 18, followed by his eagle at three, and birdies at five and six as Aiken completed that nine-hole stretch in just 29 strokes.
Goosen putted beautifully, never missing a beat, but he did get lucky at the par-5 third hole where he pushed his drive into thick undergrowth right of the fairway. The ominous sound of a golf ball hitting timber was then heard, before the ball – seemingly miraculously – bounced back into the fairway, and he capitalised by going on to birdie the hole.
“Last year I hit the same shot on the same hole and it bounced the other way,” he said. “Then you’re suddenly looking at a double-bogey seven, and I ended up missing the cut. Yeah I was fortunate this time.”
In joint fourth place on 66 last night were South Africans Michael du Toit and Dean O’RIley, and Welshman Phillip Price, with Shaun Norris, England’s Danny Willet, Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands and France’s Charles-edouard Russo next best on 67. Garth Mulroy, winner of the Alfred Dunhill Champion in November, signed for a 68.
Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen was home in fourunder-par 69, the one blemish in his round a double-bogey six at the short but tricky par-4 sixth hole. Richard Sterne also made 69 – an encouraging sign. “BIG EASY” Ernie Els, Guinnessloving, Open champion Darren Clarke and Irish star Padraig Harrington are the latest confirmed players for the 2-million (about R21-million) Volvo Golf Champions to be held at The Links at Fancourt from January 19-22.
Along with Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Retief Goosen and Paul Lawrie, this brings to seven the number of Major winners who will be on their way to the biggest tour event ever held in South Africa. Also announcing his participation yesterday was Robert Karlsson, who was one of the 12 world class players who took part in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in December.
The tall Swede joins fellow European Tour stars Thomas Björn, Paul Casey, Nicolas Colsaerts, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Tom Lewis, Matteo Manassero, Colin Montgomerie and Alexander Norén in the 72-hole showpiece in which first-place money equates to a hefty R3,7-million.
Former world No1 Els may have 68 professional career titles to his name, along with three Majors, but he has drifted just outside the top 50 in the rankings which, as things stand, means he will miss out on the Masters in April. So he needs to play well in upcoming events in order to get back inside the top 50 and book his place in the Augusta line-up, and the Volvo could be a good starting point to kick off his year.
“Obviously, I love competing at home in South Africa and I have great memories of playing at the Links at Fancourt, in professional events and when on holiday here, and am looking forward to trying to win the European Tour’s first true ‘tournament of champions’,” Els said.
The Volvo Golf Champions is an exclusive, limited field event with no halfway cut, open only to European Tour players who have won an event on the previous year’s European Tour International Schedule (in this case 2010), the only excep- tion being current Tour Members with more than 10 European Tour victories – a category that, for instance the Goose and Montgomerie fall into.
The popular Clarke secured his place at the Volvo Golf Champions by winning the Iberdrola Open in May last year before going on to become one of the most universally well-received winners of the Open Championship when he won at Royal St Georges in July.
He enthused, “I had an amazing 2011 and would never have dreamt I would be teeing off at the Volvo Golf Champions as the reigning Open Champion. It feels pretty special to hear it announced on the first tee, I can tell you.”