Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman head into the weekend of the South African Airways (SAA) Open at Humewood chasing the one-stroke lead of Swede Patrik Sjoland.
Sjoland carded a course record 64 for a total of 12 under par and is seeking to become the second Swedish winner of the championship and only the seventh foreign winner.
But with Els and Immelman a stroke back following respective rounds of 66, and defending champion Retief Goosen three off the pace, the South African challenge remains a strong one.
”I’ll probably be a bit nervous, but this is what we play for,” said Sjoland, who is aiming to add to the win of countryman Mathias Gronberg in 2000. ”I’m just going to go out and enjoy it, and hopefully I can hit a few good shots and make some putts.”
Another dramatic round came down to the final holes on the back nine.
On a windless day, Goosen and Andrew Raitt were the first to take advantage and set the early clubhouse mark at nine under. Goosen birdied holes 15 and 16 and then eagled 17 — the hole he carded an 11 on in the first round — for a 66.
Immelman then made a tremendous charge, despite struggling with his swing. He carded three birdies and an eagle from the 14th to lead by two on 12 under.
But the par-four 18th halted his progress. A pulled drive into the bushes led to a bogey there.
Behind him, Els chipped in for an eagle two on 16 and birdied 17 to share the lead with Immelman on 11 under.
Sjoland then had the final say, claimed the sole lead with a strong finish of four birdies in his final four holes.
The flurry of birdies on the back nine was evidence of a course that was definitely there for the taking on Friday.
”We all know she [the course] isn’t showing her teeth yet and we’ve been quite lucky,” said Els. ”I felt I could’ve done better on the front nine, but I kept my patience and started making some birdies on the back nine. The eagle on 16 was a nice bonus.”
Els also enjoyed a good break on the 15th where an attempt to cut a three-wood for his second put him in the rough, from where he was fortunate to make a five. ”It could’ve easily been a six or seven,” he said.
Immelman also counted himself fortunate to shoot a 66 on a day when his swing wasn’t quite there.
”I was amazed how well I scored for the way I played,” he said. ”I was fighting my game all day. After the birdie on the first I lost my swing and rhythm, and it was a real grind for me.”
Immelman relied heavily on a putter that kept his round together, but he admits he has some work to do if he hopes to add to his SAA Open titles of 2003 and 2004.
”I’ll have to find something for the next two days. On the 18th I hit the shot I’d been fighting all day and was a little disappointed I couldn’t hang on. Everything was nose-diving to the left and it’s a shot I haven’t hit all year. It’s probably something small I’m not doing, so hopefully I’ll be able to fix that.”
For Sjoland, the biggest concern will be fighting the nerves that almost got the better of him on Friday. After his run of five birdies to the turn for an outward nine of 30, the Swede became the centre of attention.
”All of a sudden all the cameras came and I got nervous for a few holes. But I managed to get myself to together and finished nicely,” said Sjoland, who counts losing his European Tour card last year as a blessing.
”I got the enjoyment back in my game. I had been on tour for 10 years before that and I was tired of the travelling and being away from my family. So, it was good to lose my card and have some time to think.” — Sapa