Paarl, 20 December 2008: Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger shot a seven-under-par 65 in early play on Saturday to set the clubhouse lead at 10-under-par 206.
Overnight leader Michael Lorenzo-Vera of France had just started as Wiesberger finished his round, while crowd-favourite Ernie Els had a disastrous three-over-par start to his third round when he pushed his tee shot out of bound to the right. His short double-bogey putt then lipped out, giving him a horrible seven to start his day.
Alessandro Tadini of Italy shot a six-under 66 to move him to eight-under for the tournament, while Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke signed for a 67 to also move to eight under.
Sunshine Tour Order of Merit leader Richard Sterne also shot a 67 to finish eight-under.
Early scores:
206 - Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 72 69 65
208 - Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 68 74 66, Darren Clarke (NIR) 74 67 67, Richard Sterne 72 69 67, Simon Dyson (ENG) 67 73 68
209 - Louis Oosthuizen 69 73 67
210 - Andrew Coltart (SCO) 71 72 67, Gary Murphy (IRL) 72 71 67, Jarmo Sandelin (SWE) 72 70 68, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 70 71 69, Garth Mulroy 70 71 69, Gary Lockerbie (ENG) 72 69 69, Tim Clark 67 73 70, Trevor Immelman 69 71 70, Oskar Henningsson (SWE) 65 74 71
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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.
