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East London - Open champion Louis Oosthuizen showed his love of shot-making on Friday as he carded a six-under-par 67 to move to within a stroke of the lead at the halfway mark in the €1-million Africa Open.
He trails a group of three players who head the field at 10-under for the tournament – South African Branden Grace, England’s Miles Tunnicliff and Markus Brier of Austria top the leaderboard at the 6,104-metre (6,674-yard) par-73 East London Golf Club.
In the opening event of the 2011 Sunshine Tour, co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Oosthuizen looked in complete control in winds that gusted over 55 kilometres per hour at times.
“There was a lot of shot-making, which I like,” he said. “Like from 100 metres out, you take a seven-iron, or something g like that. I still think there were quite a few birdies out there today.”
He demonstrated that after opening with an eagle three on the 464-metre (507-yard) first by making five more birdies on a day when all around him were dropping shots.
His solitary bogey came on the 17th. “I just hit the wrong type of shot off the tee,” he said. “I didn’t have the greatest lie with the chip and I didn’t hit the greatest chip either. I hit a good putt but it didn’t go in.”
The three leaders ahead of Oosthuizen made nine bogeys between them – two for Grace, three for Brier and four for Tunnicliff.
And all of them professed to having a preference to playing in the wind.
“The two tournaments which I have won on the European Tour have been in really windy conditions, so it obviously suits me,” said Tunnicliff.
He carded a four-under 69 after a superb opening patch when he made five birdies in a row on the first five holes. “I wasn’t quite expecting that,” he said. “I hit some really good shots and rolled the ball in nicely.”
It came undone a little with two bogeys before the turn and two more on 15 and 16, but he waited out the storm and then chipped in on the 18th to put himself into a share of the lead.
Grace said he quite liked playing in the wind: “The wind is not the problem,” he said. “It’s just when it gusts that you struggle to get the balance and the stance right.”
But the man who was runner-up to 2009 champion Retief Goosen – who missed the cut after his second-round level-par 73 – is looking forward to the weekend. “I really came this week to do better than I did last year and maybe improve from the year before,” he said.
Joining Oosthuizen one shot off the pace were South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl and England’s Ross McGowan.
Van Zyl, the winner of four Sunshine Tour titles last year, carded a three-under 70, while McGowan fired a four-under 69.
It’s a mouth-watering leaderboard, and Oosthuizen is relishing the weekend action. “Hopefully the wind will keep blowing because Iv think it’s the way this golf course should be played,” he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
136 - Branden Grace 67 69, Markus Brier (AUT) 70 66, Miles Tunnicliff (ENG) 67 69
137 - Jaco Van Zyl 67 70, Louis Oosthuizen 70 67, Ross McGowan (ENG) 68 69
138 - Elliot Saltman (SCO) 67 71
139 - Charl Schwartzel 69 70, Fredrik Ohlsson (SWE) 67 72, Manuel Quiros (ESP) 71 68
140 - Jbe' Kruger 68 72, Carlos Del Moral (ESP) 70 70, Oliver Bekker 69 71
141 - Keith Horne 71 70, Thomas Aiken 69 72, Chris Wood (ENG) 72 69, Tyrone van Aswegen 70 71, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 67 74, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 72
142 - Daniel Greene 70 72, Wade Ormsby(AUS) 69 73, Alex Haindl 70 72, Warren Abery 69 73, Divan van den Heever 71 71, Eirik Tage Johansen (NOR) 71 71
143 - Mikko Korhonen (FIN) 71 72, Louis de Jager 72 71, Shaun Norris 70 73, Bradford Vaughan 70 73, Deane Pappas 73 70, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 74 69, James Kamte 72 71, Lorenzo Gagli (ITA) 73 70, Robert Dinwiddie (ENG) 69 74, Andrew Marshall (ENG) 71 72, Martin Maritz 69 74, Steven O'Hara (SCO) 72 71, Doug McGuigan 68 75, Robert Rock (ENG) 68 75, Brandon Pieters 66 77, Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 74 69
144 - Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 68 76, Sam Hutsby (ENG) 74 70, Neil Schietekat 74 70, Daniel Vancsik (ARG) 71 73, Thabang Simon 68 76, Dean O'Riley 70 74, Clodomiro Carranza (ARG) 71 73, Gareth Maybin (NIR) 71 73, Darren Clarke (NIR) 69 75, James Kingston 72 72, Tjaart van der Walt 70 74
145 - Ryan Tipping 73 72, Charl Coetzee 75 70, Tim Sluiter (NED) 72 73, Jamie Elson (ENG) 76 69, Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 74 71, Matthew Nixon (ENG) 71 74, Steve Lewton (ENG) 71 74, Marco Ruiz (PAR) 72 73
146 - George Coetzee 71 75, Attie Schwartzel 76 70, Jean Hugo 74 72, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 73 73, Marc Warren (SCO) 71 75, Scott Hend (AUS) 76 70, Jarmo Sandelin (SWE) 71 75, Adrian Ford 72 74, Alastair Forsyth(SCO) 70 76, Jake Roos 74 72, PH McIntyre 74 72
Missed the cut:-
147 - Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 72 75, Andre Bossert (SUI) 72 75, Sebi Garcia (ESP) 74 73, Joel Sjoholm (SWE) 75 72, Christiaan Basson 74 73, Sam Walker (ENG) 75 72, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (ESP) 72 75, Andreas Hartø (DEN) 74 73, Roope Kakko (FIN) 71 76, Michael du Toit 72 75, Joakim Haeggman(SWE) 72 75, Grant Muller 71 76, Darren Fichardt 75 72, Tyrone Ferreira 69 78, Tyrone Mordt 72 75
148 - David Dixon (ENG) 73 75, Pelle Edberg (SWE) 74 74, Floris de Vries (NED) 73 75, Lee Slattery (ENG) 70 78, Alexandre Kaleka (FRA) 69 79, Theunis Spangenberg 75 73, Ulrich van den Berg 71 77, Retief Goosen 75 73, Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 73 75, Liam Bond (WAL) 74 74
149 - JJ Senekal 75 74, Adam Gee (ENG) 79 70, Jaco Ahlers 74 75, Matt Haines (ENG) 77 72, Michiel Bothma 72 77, S S P Chowrasia (IND) 74 75, Jamie Abbott (ENG) 74 75, Louis Moolman 72 77, Steven Tiley (ENG) 75 74, Borja Etchart (ESP) 75 74, Josh Cunliffe 74 75, Anthony Kang (USA) 71 78, David Drysdale (SCO) 70 79, Stuart Manley (WAL) 73 76, Jan Are Larsen (NOR) 75 74, Colin Nel 73 76
150 - Vaughn Groenewald 75 75, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 77 73, David Hewan 75 75, Chris Williams 70 80, Mark Tullo (CHI) 72 78, Johan du Buisson 74 76, Anthony Michael 75 75, Ariel Canete (ARG) 74 76
151 - Justin Walters 78 73, Teboho Sefatsa 79 72, Merrick Bremner 73 78, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 75 76
152 - Michael Jonzon (SWE) 74 78, Oscar Floren (SWE) 79 73, Romain Wattel (FRA) 71 81, Jacques Blaauw 75 77
153 - TC Charamba (ZIM) 75 78, Peter Gustafsson (SWE) 75 78, Andrew Curlewis 80 73, Chris Swanepoel 73 80, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 71 82, Victor Riu (FRA) 76 77, Andrew Georgiou 77 76
154 - Antti Ahokas (FIN) 77 77, Alan Michell 81 73, Mark Murless 80 74, Andre Cruse 75 79, Ben Evans (ENG) 75 79, Justin Harding 73 81, Dion Fourie 75 79
155 - Julien Guerrier (FRA) 77 78, Dawie Van der Walt 74 81, Thomas Norret (DEN) 80 75, Prinavin Nelson 79 76
157 - Ryan Hood 78 79
158 - Frederico Colombo (ITA) 78 80
159 - George Murray (SCO) 81 78
161 - Scott Drummond (SCO) 78 83, Ben Mannix (ENG) 79 82
162 - Des Terblanche 78 84
164 - Pedro Oriol (ESP) 80 84, Marius Thorp (NOR) 81 83
RTD - Willie van der Merwe 74 RTD
DQ - Titch Moore 74 DQ
He trails a group of three players who head the field at 10-under for the tournament – South African Branden Grace, England’s Miles Tunnicliff and Markus Brier of Austria top the leaderboard at the 6,104-metre (6,674-yard) par-73 East London Golf Club.
In the opening event of the 2011 Sunshine Tour, co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Oosthuizen looked in complete control in winds that gusted over 55 kilometres per hour at times.
“There was a lot of shot-making, which I like,” he said. “Like from 100 metres out, you take a seven-iron, or something g like that. I still think there were quite a few birdies out there today.”
He demonstrated that after opening with an eagle three on the 464-metre (507-yard) first by making five more birdies on a day when all around him were dropping shots.
His solitary bogey came on the 17th. “I just hit the wrong type of shot off the tee,” he said. “I didn’t have the greatest lie with the chip and I didn’t hit the greatest chip either. I hit a good putt but it didn’t go in.”
The three leaders ahead of Oosthuizen made nine bogeys between them – two for Grace, three for Brier and four for Tunnicliff.
And all of them professed to having a preference to playing in the wind.
“The two tournaments which I have won on the European Tour have been in really windy conditions, so it obviously suits me,” said Tunnicliff.
He carded a four-under 69 after a superb opening patch when he made five birdies in a row on the first five holes. “I wasn’t quite expecting that,” he said. “I hit some really good shots and rolled the ball in nicely.”
It came undone a little with two bogeys before the turn and two more on 15 and 16, but he waited out the storm and then chipped in on the 18th to put himself into a share of the lead.
Grace said he quite liked playing in the wind: “The wind is not the problem,” he said. “It’s just when it gusts that you struggle to get the balance and the stance right.”
But the man who was runner-up to 2009 champion Retief Goosen – who missed the cut after his second-round level-par 73 – is looking forward to the weekend. “I really came this week to do better than I did last year and maybe improve from the year before,” he said.
Joining Oosthuizen one shot off the pace were South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl and England’s Ross McGowan.
Van Zyl, the winner of four Sunshine Tour titles last year, carded a three-under 70, while McGowan fired a four-under 69.
It’s a mouth-watering leaderboard, and Oosthuizen is relishing the weekend action. “Hopefully the wind will keep blowing because Iv think it’s the way this golf course should be played,” he said.
Scores (RSA unless specified):
136 - Branden Grace 67 69, Markus Brier (AUT) 70 66, Miles Tunnicliff (ENG) 67 69
137 - Jaco Van Zyl 67 70, Louis Oosthuizen 70 67, Ross McGowan (ENG) 68 69
138 - Elliot Saltman (SCO) 67 71
139 - Charl Schwartzel 69 70, Fredrik Ohlsson (SWE) 67 72, Manuel Quiros (ESP) 71 68
140 - Jbe' Kruger 68 72, Carlos Del Moral (ESP) 70 70, Oliver Bekker 69 71
141 - Keith Horne 71 70, Thomas Aiken 69 72, Chris Wood (ENG) 72 69, Tyrone van Aswegen 70 71, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 67 74, Trevor Fisher Jnr 69 72
142 - Daniel Greene 70 72, Wade Ormsby(AUS) 69 73, Alex Haindl 70 72, Warren Abery 69 73, Divan van den Heever 71 71, Eirik Tage Johansen (NOR) 71 71
143 - Mikko Korhonen (FIN) 71 72, Louis de Jager 72 71, Shaun Norris 70 73, Bradford Vaughan 70 73, Deane Pappas 73 70, Adilson da Silva (BRA) 74 69, James Kamte 72 71, Lorenzo Gagli (ITA) 73 70, Robert Dinwiddie (ENG) 69 74, Andrew Marshall (ENG) 71 72, Martin Maritz 69 74, Steven O'Hara (SCO) 72 71, Doug McGuigan 68 75, Robert Rock (ENG) 68 75, Brandon Pieters 66 77, Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 74 69
144 - Lloyd Saltman (SCO) 68 76, Sam Hutsby (ENG) 74 70, Neil Schietekat 74 70, Daniel Vancsik (ARG) 71 73, Thabang Simon 68 76, Dean O'Riley 70 74, Clodomiro Carranza (ARG) 71 73, Gareth Maybin (NIR) 71 73, Darren Clarke (NIR) 69 75, James Kingston 72 72, Tjaart van der Walt 70 74
145 - Ryan Tipping 73 72, Charl Coetzee 75 70, Tim Sluiter (NED) 72 73, Jamie Elson (ENG) 76 69, Daniel Gaunt (AUS) 74 71, Matthew Nixon (ENG) 71 74, Steve Lewton (ENG) 71 74, Marco Ruiz (PAR) 72 73
146 - George Coetzee 71 75, Attie Schwartzel 76 70, Jean Hugo 74 72, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 73 73, Marc Warren (SCO) 71 75, Scott Hend (AUS) 76 70, Jarmo Sandelin (SWE) 71 75, Adrian Ford 72 74, Alastair Forsyth(SCO) 70 76, Jake Roos 74 72, PH McIntyre 74 72
Missed the cut:-
147 - Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 72 75, Andre Bossert (SUI) 72 75, Sebi Garcia (ESP) 74 73, Joel Sjoholm (SWE) 75 72, Christiaan Basson 74 73, Sam Walker (ENG) 75 72, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (ESP) 72 75, Andreas Hartø (DEN) 74 73, Roope Kakko (FIN) 71 76, Michael du Toit 72 75, Joakim Haeggman(SWE) 72 75, Grant Muller 71 76, Darren Fichardt 75 72, Tyrone Ferreira 69 78, Tyrone Mordt 72 75
148 - David Dixon (ENG) 73 75, Pelle Edberg (SWE) 74 74, Floris de Vries (NED) 73 75, Lee Slattery (ENG) 70 78, Alexandre Kaleka (FRA) 69 79, Theunis Spangenberg 75 73, Ulrich van den Berg 71 77, Retief Goosen 75 73, Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 73 75, Liam Bond (WAL) 74 74
149 - JJ Senekal 75 74, Adam Gee (ENG) 79 70, Jaco Ahlers 74 75, Matt Haines (ENG) 77 72, Michiel Bothma 72 77, S S P Chowrasia (IND) 74 75, Jamie Abbott (ENG) 74 75, Louis Moolman 72 77, Steven Tiley (ENG) 75 74, Borja Etchart (ESP) 75 74, Josh Cunliffe 74 75, Anthony Kang (USA) 71 78, David Drysdale (SCO) 70 79, Stuart Manley (WAL) 73 76, Jan Are Larsen (NOR) 75 74, Colin Nel 73 76
150 - Vaughn Groenewald 75 75, Neil Cheetham (ENG) 77 73, David Hewan 75 75, Chris Williams 70 80, Mark Tullo (CHI) 72 78, Johan du Buisson 74 76, Anthony Michael 75 75, Ariel Canete (ARG) 74 76
151 - Justin Walters 78 73, Teboho Sefatsa 79 72, Merrick Bremner 73 78, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 75 76
152 - Michael Jonzon (SWE) 74 78, Oscar Floren (SWE) 79 73, Romain Wattel (FRA) 71 81, Jacques Blaauw 75 77
153 - TC Charamba (ZIM) 75 78, Peter Gustafsson (SWE) 75 78, Andrew Curlewis 80 73, Chris Swanepoel 73 80, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 71 82, Victor Riu (FRA) 76 77, Andrew Georgiou 77 76
154 - Antti Ahokas (FIN) 77 77, Alan Michell 81 73, Mark Murless 80 74, Andre Cruse 75 79, Ben Evans (ENG) 75 79, Justin Harding 73 81, Dion Fourie 75 79
155 - Julien Guerrier (FRA) 77 78, Dawie Van der Walt 74 81, Thomas Norret (DEN) 80 75, Prinavin Nelson 79 76
157 - Ryan Hood 78 79
158 - Frederico Colombo (ITA) 78 80
159 - George Murray (SCO) 81 78
161 - Scott Drummond (SCO) 78 83, Ben Mannix (ENG) 79 82
162 - Des Terblanche 78 84
164 - Pedro Oriol (ESP) 80 84, Marius Thorp (NOR) 81 83
RTD - Willie van der Merwe 74 RTD
DQ - Titch Moore 74 DQ
