South African Open faces some rain trouble
The Organisers of the 100th edition of the South African Open have been facing quite some trouble caused by the heavy rain. As a result they have been forced to reduce the tournament to 70 holes. The heavy rain on Sunday has left the fourth green
at the Durban Country Club unplayable.
The rain wreaked havoc on the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine and European Tour, this Thursday. Two and a half hours of play was all that could be managed.
This meant that only two rounds of the event could be completed over the first three days. The officials were hoping that they could complete the last two rounds come Sunday. However, the rain did not let up and the green on the fourth par-three holes became
waterlogged. Thus ended any hope of the players being able to complete the remaining rounds.
Initially when the tournament kicked off, it seemed like Retief Goosen was all set to grab his third South African Open title and his first international victory this year. The golfer, who has two US Open titles under his belt, played the first round eight-ender
par 64. This was a new low-scoring record for the event. “That’s the way you want to start,” said Goosen, who managed to play beautifully during the first round despite the rain on Thursday with two very crucial birdies in the four holes before the
round was suspended. “It went well for those first four holes in the rain, but it was good that they eventually called it off because the course was unplayable.”
On Friday when play resumed in order to complete the round, one could tell immediately that Goosen had his head in the game. He not only birdied his first hole of the day but went on to score sis more birdies, two eagles and two bogeys. Goosen’s superb iron
play was the most prominent feature of his game in his first round. "The momentum kept going with that first birdie. The course had also improved hugely since the first round. It was like day and night. I hit a lot of iron shots close. My driving could
get better, but I got away with it in the rough.”
Even though Goosen had a good start, Sunday saw Ernie Els pulling ahead. The South African golfer leads the championship on 13-under-par with Goosen one shot behind through one hole of the third round.
Despite this, most eyes remain glued to Goosen, who has proven his skills even under the most difficult conditions.
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