Joburg Open, Super Sterne Wins.

Richard Sterne / Getty Images.

Richard Sterne won the Joburg Open with a super last round 64 on the East Course at  Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club on Sunday. His final tournament total of -27 under par, a record for this event, was an amazing seven shots ahead of second placed Charl Schwartzel. Richard’s recent woes with injury are now well behind him, although even he did not expect to be away from the game for nearly two years;

” I didn’t think I was going to be out for so long, but six months became a year and then almost two.  After all the hard work and the time out with injury, I did think whether I was ever going to win again. At one point the pain was so bad that I even wondered if I’d ever play golf again. But now I know I can. The only thing that kept me going was all the other South Africans, they kept winning a lot of events and I believed that if they could do it then I could.”

Richard is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to drop just one shot in a 72 hole European Tour event, he now leads the Race To Dubai and will definitely be in the top 60 when the Official World Golf Rankings are updated on Monday. Only the top 50 players qualify automatically for Major Championships,  a huge incentive for Richard, who admits the Majors is where he wants to be;

” I’d like to get back into all the Majors, that’s where I want to be playing. It’s a big year,  I’ve got off to such a nice start so hopefully I can keep it going. I played really good golf today and the whole week really,  that was probably the best final round of my career. It was quite special to finish the way I did.”

Charl Schwartzel’s 66 left him one better off than  Chilean Felipe Aguilar, George Coetzee and Ricardo Santos, who matched the victor’s final round of 64. Sadly Trevor Fisher Jnr had a final round of  73, which left him tied in sixth place, alongside Keith Horne and Thomas Aiken on -18 under par for the tournament.

Joburg Open. Sterne & Fisher to Contest Final Round

Trevor Fisher Jnr / Getty Images

The final round of the Joburg Open will be contested between Richard Sterne and Trevor Fisher Jnr, after their fantastic third round scores elevated them to a five point lead over the field. Both players shot rounds of -4 under par, 68, on the tough East Course to separate themselves from the chasing pack at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.

Trevor Fisher Jnr admitted to some nerves out on the course;

” A bit of nerves set in there, you try not to think about the lead, but it’s there in front of you. I was a bit jumpy with the swing and wasn’t waiting at the top, so I hit a few bad shots there. But I came back nicely with a few birdies. It’s just a feeling, and you’ve got to try and feel comfortable out there as much as possible. My last three or four years have been good on the Sunshine Tour. But I need to get to the next level now. It’s been good for me in terms of the stepping stones I’ve taken in the last 10 years. But I’ve stepped on a lot of stones,  I need to get to the top now.”

Charl Schwartzel is one of four players tied in third spot, five shots adrift of the leaders, but he thinks there is still a chance of a win;

” My game is not bad, but it can be a lot better. A bunch of putts didn’t go in, so I hope that clicks tomorrow. If I can go out and get to twenty-something under, then I’ll have a chance.”

Felipe Agular of Chile remains the only player from outside South Africa who has a slim chance to win, he is alongside Jaco Van Zyl and George Coetzee  at -14 under par, and will be five strokes behind at the start of play in the last round.

Joburg Open. It’s Still Sterne.

Richard Sterne / Getty Images

Richard Sterne still leads at the halfway stage of the Joburg Open, a European Tour event, after a -7 under par round 65 on the tougher East Course  saw him join compatriot Trevor Fisher Junior at the top of the leaderboard at -15 under par.

Richard knows there is a long way to go, but is happy he is not behind and having to chase;

” I did the right things and putted well, it’s nice to not be behind going into the weekend. It won’t be easy on the weekend, the players that are five or six back can catch us as well. Charl’s there, George is due a win, so it’s a long way from over.”

Trevor Fisher Jnr, named Player of the Year on the Sunshine Tour, shot a round of 62 on the West Course, with seven birdies and an eagle on his card, to go with his opening round on the East Course of 66, for his -15 under par total.

Trevor was happy with his good round;

” It was a great day out there, everything just happened for me and I sank the putts I needed to sink. I was happy and patient with myself, walked slow and did everything slow and it was just a good day.”

George Coetzee had a good day and came within a shot of two-time winner Charl Schwartzel’s course record, but at -12 under par for the tournament is still three back of the leaders.

It is all South Africans at the top of the leaderboard, nearest foreign player is Felipe Aguilar from Chile, who is in a tie for fourth place at -10 under par.

Yesterdays first round tied leader, German Maximilian Kieffer, could only manage a par round on the more difficult East Course, and is now back tied for 11th place.

Joburg Open, 1st Round. Sterne and Kieffer Lead.

Richard Sterne / Getty Images

Richard Sterne and Maximilian Kieffer lead the Joburg Open with fabulous first rounds of -8 under par of 63 on Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s par 71 West Course. Both players now face three rounds on the tougher par 72 East Course, but Richard knows this course pretty well, the South African had a victory here in 2008, the five-time European Tour winner said:

” I had three good rounds around the East Course that year. If I can do that now I’ll have a chance on Sunday.”

Richard suffers from a dodgy back, which held him back during the last two years, he said he never knows when its going to be good;

” Some days it feels good and everything kind of happens, golf is strange, you’ve got to hit the right kind of shots at the right time. I hit 17 greens today, so I was never really in trouble at all.”

Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer continued the impressive start he has made to his rookie year campaign, having already finished tied for fourth in Durban and tied for 17th in Dubai. Maximilian said he enjoyed his great first round here;

” When you come from the Challenge Tour everyone says that you have enough to play out here, but you still want to prove it. It’s a new world and you don’t really know what to expect, so I’m happy that it went pretty good so far. That round was great,  I’ve been playing well the last few weeks and I just tried to stay positive on the golf course, and luckily today was another good round.”

Bryce Easton of South Africa, had a hole-in-one on his way to posting the best round on the tougher East Course, a 65, which gave him third place on -7  under par. Speaking about his hole in one, Bryce said;

” It’s one of those things, you don’t think about it when you’re playing the hole, but when it goes in it takes a couple of seconds to realise that it’s actually disappeared.”

The defending champion Branden Grace, and two-time winner Charl Schwartzel also played on the East Course on day one, but while former Masters Tournament winner Charl opened with a four under 68, Branden could only produce a level par 72.

Joburg Open 2nd Round

Highlight of the Joburg second round was Englishman Richard Finch firing a hole in one at the par three 12th. Strangely enough he was not too pleased to achieve the feat, if it had come during the last round it would have earned Richard a million rand for the effort. Finch’s hole-in-one helped him into a share of the lead at the Joburg Open, sharing that position with Robert Rock and  George Coetzee at the tough Royal Johannesburg and Kensington East Course.

Finch said of his hole in one, ”On 12 I looked at the back of the tee and read the board which said there was a million rand available for a hole-in-one in the final round. As my shot landed I turned around and said ‘Oh no!’ because I had hit it on the perfect line.”  ”Some of Darren Fichardt’s family and friends were at the green and they started cheering, so it was clear it had gone in.” ”I made one at Humewood a few years ago during the SA Open. It was sponsored by South African Airways, so I won a million air miles, which was nice.”

Richard was also delighted with his second round effort, ”Starting today at five-under-par was interesting, a few birdies and you’re right up there amongst the lead, but a couple of bogeys and you miss the cut. But I’m delighted with today, I thought some of the pins were really tucked away, so I just tried to be sensible and get it on to the green to give myself a chance. I managed to roll a few in, which was good,”

Gallo Images

Robert Rock leads Joburg Open

Englands Robert Rock took the lead in the Joburg Open in the second round before a thunderstorm halted play for the day. Robert has a score of 11 under par after posting an eagle and four birdies.                                             Jamie Elson, one of the leaders after the first round, was unable to start, it has yet been reported why. Damien McGrane, who shared that first-round lead with Jamie Elson, was one over after three holes on Friday.

The second round will have to be completed tomorrow, an anxious wait for Charl Schwartzel to see if he makes the half way cut.

Warren Little/Getty Images

Robert Rock plays a drive at the 10th during the Joburg Open

Jamie Elson leads Joburg Open

England’s Jamie Elson has stormed into a share of the first round lead at the Joburg Open, shooting an eight under par 63 over Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s West Course.
“I got off to a flyer. I birdied the first, second, third and then chipped in at the fourth.

He was joined at the top of the leader board by Ireland’s Damien McGrane, who managed to reach the clubhouse before thunderstorms halted play.
In all about four hours were lost because of the real threat of lightning, and some of the players unable to complete their rounds before darkness set.
Elson was able to play his final three holes after the storm and picked up two shots in his last three holes of the day
“I had just hit a good shot on 16, the par three, and there was a strong downwind,” he said.
“With the water short it was a pretty good shot and left myself with an eight footer when I resumed play. I managed to knock that in and then finished well”
.“I had a good year here last year, I think I shot six-under on the second day at the hard course, so if I can do that again it would be nice.”

Damien was also pleased with his start to the tournament saying, “I am delighted to be in a good position after round one. For the last three or four years Irish golf has been quite incredible, and I think we feed off each other. For a small nation it sure is great to be there or thereabouts”
.“I stacked up a few birdies during the round, but that eagle really turned my round.
“I played beautifully from start to finish, and this course does give up opportunities. The greens and weather were perfect, so if you’re on your game there are birdie chances. Needless to say you have to make the chances and today I holed a few nice putts.

“I hit plenty of fairways and holed a few nice putts for birdie, it was just the bogey at the last which was disappointing. Apart from that it was a perfect round of golf.”

Lets hope these two happy soldiers are still at the top tomorrow.

(Getty Images)