Paarl, 18 December 2008: Rory Sabbatini (66) and Ross McGowan (66) shared the early lead at six-under par after solid first rounds at the South African Open at Pearl Valley.
Sabbatini moved to the United States in 1994 and has returned to South Africa this year to play his third consecutive tournament on native soil following the Alfred Dunhill Cup at Leopard Creek and the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City.
He was finally able to sink some putts after two weeks of playing well but not being able to get the ball in the hole, and an unblemished scorecard included six birdies.
McGowan who hails from England fired a perfect six-under which included four birdies and an eagle on the 485-meter par 5.
Most of the spectators followed local hero Ernie Els, and weren’t disappointed with his five-under par 67 which included four birdies and an eagle on the fifth. His start was somewhat spoilt by a bogey on the 12th.
Early completed scores:
65 - Oskar Henningsson (SWE)
66 - Ross McGowan (ENG), Rory Sabbatini (RSA), Keith Horne (RSA)
67 - Simon Dyson (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA), Tim Clark (RSA), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
68 - James Kamte (RSA), Albert Pistorius (RSA), Hennie Otto (RSA)
69 - Branden Grace (RSA), Carlos Del Moral (ESP), Rafael Cabrera Bello (ESP), Justin Rose (ENG), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
70 - Mathias Gronberg (SWE), Garth Mulroy (RSA), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Adilson da Silva (BRA), Rory McIlroy (NIR)
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Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate will host the South African Open Championship in 2011 and 2012. The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Serengeti is the first 27-hole golf course in Gauteng and was recently named “Best New Golf Course” by Golf Digest.
The 18-hole course called Masai Mara, which means “wide open plains” in the language of the Masai, has a rugged grassland and dune-scape look. One of the unique features on the course is the par-five eighth hole with its island green. The nine-hole course called Whistling Thorn has a more classic feel.
The courses were constructed in accordance with USGA specifications, with cool season grass that provides green vistas all year round. Designed as a strategic and technical masterpiece that will test today’s best players, the sunken design of the course with its wide corridors is ideal for tournament purposes and provides optimal spectator value on almost every hole.
