South Africans Trevor Immelman and Retief Goosen are hoping their experience as former winners of the World Cup will give them an edge in the final round of this year’s tournament at Mission Hills.
In Saturday’s fourball or better-ball format, the duo combined for a six-under-par 66 and will go into the final-round foursomes, where teammates take alternate strokes, just two shots off the lead.
Goosen, twice a United States Open champion, won the tournament in Japan in 2001 with Ernie Els, while Immelman teamed up with Rory Sabbatini to reclaim the trophy two years later at Kiawah Island in the US.
”I’m sure it will help coming down the stretch,” said Immelman. ”We both know how to get it done, and obviously Retief has won many tournaments all over the world, so it would be nice for me to be able to lean on him for tomorrow.”
Goosen, one of the more familiar names in a field featuring only two players from the world’s top 20, said making a good start would be important if they were to bring the John Hopkins trophy back to South Africa for a sixth time.
”Two behind, foursomes tomorrow, anything can happen in foursomes,” said the world number 25. ”We both need to get out there and do our thing from the first hole onwards, get in a good groove and we’ll see what happens.” — Reuters