Paarl, 19 December 2008: On the back of his Madrid Masters victory in Spain in October, Charl Schwartzel impressed with a second round seven-under par 65 to share the lead with Lee Westwood (68) and Damien McGrane (64) in the second round of the South African Open in Pearl Valley on Friday.
Four birdies on either side of the turn gave Schwartel a share of thye clubhouse lead after turning on 32, but a bogey on the 17th spoilt his card.
"This morning, I got off to a really good start with birdies my first four holes. I hit some fantastic shots today, and you know, just sort of during the middle of the round, nothing was happening and my back nine started with three birdies again," said Schwartzel.
"All in all, it was a very good round for me. Felt like I played really well and I didn't make any mistakes, except for my tee shot on the last, and still managed to escape with a par there, which was very nice."
Westwood too had misfortune, dropping a shot on the 17th, but a conservative approach ensured the Englishman shared the top of the leaderboard after birdies on the third, seventh, 13th, 14th and 16th.
With tricky windy conditions, McGrane recovered from a first round 70 with a perfect eight-under par 64. The Irishman fed off Schwartzel and Darren Fichardt who teed off on the back nine but found fortune with six birdies on 30 after holing four consecutively from hole 11 to 14, with another two on the homestretch.
"We had a good three-ball, and Charl had four birdies to start his game straightaway today and I had one par and four birdies to follow him," said McGrane.
"It was tough to get the honour on the front nine, but I think I was brought along by his (Schwartzel’s) momentum."
Thomas Aiken negotiated a better second round to share a best score of 64 with McGrane.
Early scores:
134 Lee Westwood (ENG) 66 68, Charl Schwartzel 69 65, Damien McGrane (IRL) 70 64
135 Thomas Aiken 71 64, Dave Horsey (ENG) 70 65, Gareth Maybin (NIR) 66 69
136 Retief Goosen 70 66, Len Mattiace (USA) 70 66
137 George Coetzee 69 68, Chris Wood (ENG) 68 69, Martin Wiegele (AUT) 69 68
138 Richie Ramsay (SCO) 66 72, John Mellor (ENG) 70 68
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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.
