Sunshine Tour: Whitelaw and Bothma takes the lead in the first round of the Platinum Classic
After a long gap the winner of the South African Open, Clinton Whitelaw successfully made it to the top of the leader board with a score of 8-under-par 64.
He shot the score at the Platinum Classic, which was taking place at the Mooinooi Golf Club, Mooi Nooi, South Africa. This is the 200th Sunshine tour start for the South African and he has attained
three titles since 1990. Despite that, he has never attained such a low score. The player was pleased with his rare achievements, which he attained after appearing in 199 tournaments.
Speaking to the press he said, “It’s taken me two hundred tournaments to shoot a sixty-four, so obviously I'm very pleased," he enthused. I've just found this out now, and that's a lot of tournaments"
Whitelaw teed off from the front nine and within moments, he was on the other side with a score of four-under par 32.He delivered a bogey-free round with four birdies in the front and four in the back. Although, the whole layout
was a switch between par fives and fours, but Whitelaw handled it well and manage to get out without a missed shot.
The winner of the 1997 Moroccan Open was delighted with his game with the new pair of clubs, which he got in the pro-am session on Wednesday. Whitelaw has been struggling with the old clubs; therefore, he got them replaced and
they in return worked wonders for him.
Speaking to the press he said, "It's quite funny because I have been struggling with my clubs, so I built a set up yesterday with the guys from Mizuno and I actually hit them pretty nicely today.”
The 39-year-old turned professional in 1990 and three years later, he won the SA Open Championship followed by a victory in the FNB Pro series events in 1996 at Rondebosch and Schoeman Park Golf Clubs. He relied on R79, 000 for
his first victory and if he wins the title this week, then he will be earning R95 100. The difference is not massive but Whitelaw says he will be happy.
Whitelaw was not alone at the top; he was joined by the two-time Sunshine Tour winner, Michiel Bothma. The player helped with five successive birdies and two bogeys.
The duo was followed by Jake Roos, who recently got engaged to his long-term girlfriend. The player had great energy which was evident in his swings, which were straight and powerful. He shot a 65 to trail behind the leaders. Roos
wrapped up the front nine with 34 strokes and the second half with 31 shots.
Despite this, Roos was not happy with his performance as according to him the weather was against the low scoring. Roos said, "It was a good round. I did not hit the ball that well, but I managed to score quite well. It was quite
windy, but I managed my round quite nicely and made a couple of good putts."
Roos has teed off in several events at the European Challenge Tour this season. This is the reason for his great form. Roos has managed to secure the 2011 card, but he is eyeing bigger things such as getting out of the European
Tour Qualifying School by the end of the season.
Trailing behind was the winner of the 2010 Vodacom Business Origins of Golf, Jean Hugo. The player fired a score of six-under-par 66, but was instantly joined by Jaco van Zyl. Both the players took the third spot of the leader
board.
This is it for the first round of the Platinum Classic, which was staged at Mooinooi Golf Club in South Africa. Clinton Whitelaw and Michiel Bothma surged to an early lead by scoring 64 against strong winds on the par-72 course.
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