Grizzled Retief Goosen grabs early lead in South African Open: Live Leaderboard
The leaderboard of the latest European Tour event, the South African Open at the Serengeti Golf Course, is now telling a whole new story as the third round is gradually heading towards culmination. Retief Goosen, the grizzled South African veteran, however
has still managed to stay ahead of the rest of the field. He is now leading the event through the six-hole stretch so far. Goosen opened up the round with consecutive three birdies on the opening holes to outsmart the overnight leader Steven O’Hara.
O’Hara opened up the third round with surprising complacency, has not been able to card a single birdie throughout the six-hole stretch and has already conceded a bogey at par-four, 6th. The Scot will have to work hard to overtake grizzled Goosen
in order to retain his tour card at the European Tour.
Meanwhile, Lloyd Saltman, another Scot, has decided to lead the event for his country, shooting in contention with four blistering birdies on the front nine. He has just made the turn for the back nine. Saltman is trailing Goosen by two shots on the aggregate.
Some five players are in contention for the fourth spot for the moment, alongside O’Hara, including South Africans Thomas Aiken, Keith Horne, Jaco Ahlers and Swede Magnus A Carlsson.
Bland is also one of the struggling players’ on the field who desperately need a strong finish to retain the tour card. He is currently ranked 174th on the Race to Dubai points table. The fact that there will be only one event left on the European
Tour Calendar, the UBS Hong Kong Open, players like Bland, O’Hara, Simon Wakefield and Alvaro Velasco, have all moved in the top-ten in the event, in a bid to survive the next season.
Wakefield is 124th on the Race to Dubai Rankings and is also the top graduate of the Qualifying School last year. He needs a top nine finishes or better to retain his tour card and climb back in the top-118 on the point table, the threshold mark
for qualification for the next season.
The South African Open is co-sanctioned by European Tour and home grown Sunshine Tour and is being played for the first time at the majestic Jack Nicklaus designed Serengeti Golf Club. The region is close to the infamous Masai Mara tribe of South Africa.
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