January at the coast obviously suits Tim Clark. The boy from Umkomaas who had to pre-qualify before winning the South African Open at Durban Country Club last year, had a fast start to his defence at Erinvale on Thursday, shooting a five-under-par 67 to be one behind the early leader, Jean Hugo.
Clark said: ‘It was kind of a weird feeling to turn up here and have a car parking space with my name on it, considering that last year they wouldn’t let me in the clubhouse!â€
Clark went bogey-free for his round and missed just one green in regulation. He was one of the few players to birdie the tough sixth hole, where he hit a five iron to a foot for a simple tap in.
But while Clark was the local hero last year, this year it’s the turn of Trevor Immelman. Immelman’s first club was Somerset West, a bare 5km from Erinvale, and he joined the latter when it opened in 1994.
He said, ‘I can remember going out on to the 17th tee with a bucket of balls and a four iron most nights at about 5.30. There was never anyone about and I’d be saying to myself, ‘this one’s for the Open Campionship’, or whatever. This week I’m walking down the road and people are saying, ‘Hey, Trevor!’ and it feels weird to be greeted by total strangers.â€
Immelman finished with a two-under-par 70 to be in the thick of things, three shots behind Clark and four behind Hugo, another local hero who lost his card in Europe last season.
Erinvale is the first residential resort course to host the world’s second-oldest Open championship, but the phenomenal growth of these secure estates means that it will certainly not be the last. Erinvale is said to be relatively immune to the Cape winds, but a few of the competitors may have had cause to argue that point.
Take the case of English journeyman Gary Emerson. Level par through nine holes, he then hit three balls into a stiff south-easter off the first tee (his 10th), all of which finished in a watery grave. He walked off the green with an octuple bogey 12, a score that will bring a smile to the lips of every hacker who ever lived.