Retief Goosen and Alex Cejka share first round lead at the South African Open.
Retief Goosen and Alex Cejka struggle to post eight under-64s during the rainy first round of the South African Open on Friday. Taking place at the Durban Country Club in South Africa, the 100th edition of the SA Open has gotten players working
really hard for victory. The rain, the storm or even the flooding course didn’t dim down the passion of the players.
South African golfers Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel are tied for third place at 65. Another South African who is the spotlight, Louis Oosthuzien, posted five under-67 to share the 11th place with nine other players. The British Open Champion
is especially on the watch since he didn’t make the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week.
Oosthuzien told the Tour website that yesterday's wait was really long and for him, his first round is satisfactory. He also said that despite the rain, the greens looked better than were expected.
One of the leaders of the day, Goosen, has won the Open twice and has also won the U.S Open Major twice. His round overall was very impressive with six birdies and two eagles leaving him as the sole player in the lead for most of the first round. Bogeying
number 17th, Goosen became a little aggravated but then overcame his slip with the birdie on the 18th.
“I'd say my iron play was the best today, and yesterday. I hit a lot of iron shots close, my driving could get better. I hit a lot of shots close, so putting was easier as I wasn't too far away,” said Retief.
As for the other star of the show, Alex joined Retief in the lead thanks to the eight birdies he posted in the first round.
The most recent winner of the European Tour, Pablo Martin, who defended his title last week, is seven shots off the lead at one under 71.
All in all, the first round of the South African Open was interesting as ever. This tournament, which is communally sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour, is very important to some players. There are some who regard this as South Africa’s
major. With its importance and the talented field it’s staging, the South African Open should definitely be followed. The second round tees off tomorrow.
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