Trevor Immelman and Adam Scott led the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Thursday after both shot five-under 67 in the first round.
Fourth-ranked Ernie Els was just two shots behind in the 12-man field at the Gary Player Country Club.
"I'm not too far off playing great golf again," said Els, who is aiming for a record fourth title at Sun City and the US$1.2 million first prize. "I'll try to make more putts from tomorrow and I think I can get four rounds under 70 -- which might be enough to win."
Immelman hit birdies on the first four holes on a course softened by rains over the last week. The South African topped that with an eagle three on the ninth to turn in six-under 30. But he couldn't maintain the momentum and dropped shots on 11 and 12.
Scott birdied the third and the ninth on the way out, then picked up two more on 10 and 12 before recording an eagle three on the 14th. The Australian dropped one shot on the 15th after finding the rough on the left with his tee shot.
The English duo of Justin Rose and Luke Donald each had four-under 68, with Donald impressing more with his homeward nine of 32, including four birdies.
They were a shot clear of Els and Australia's Geoff Ogilvie.
■ New Zealand Open
Australian Steven Bowditch shot a carefree seven-under 65 yesterday to grab the outright lead after the second round of the New Zealand Open.
The 24-year-old, who shot a 69 in blustery conditions on Thursday, took full advantage of more benign weather in the second round to post 134 at the halfway mark at The Hills course near New Zealand's tourist capital Queenstown.
Joint first-round leader and fellow Australian Paul Sheehan finished one shot back after racking up five birdies on the back nine for a 67.
Michael Long was the best performing local player, taking third spot after a birdie on the last saw him finish the round on 67.
A group of four were two shots further back on 138. Englishman Richard Finch matched Bowditch with a faultless 65 to leap from a share of 52nd overnight, tying with Australian Ewan Porter (66), countryman Gary Simpson (69) and Scotland's Peter Whiteford (68).
Another three players shared eighth place on 139, among them Australian Steven Jeffress, who finished with a 68 after making a hole-in-one on the 15th.
■ Cambodian Open
Bryan Saltus of the US put his new putter to good use yesterday as he shot a five-under 67 to claim a share of the lead after two rounds of the inaugural Cambodian Open.
Saltus joined first-round leader Adam Groom, with the Australian shooting a 68 yesterday, in the lead of the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Groom and Saltus were three strokes in front of their nearest pursuers -- Anthony Kang of the US, England's Ben St. John and Scotland's Simon Dunn in third.
Thailand's Chapchai Nirat shot a 71 yesterday to be equal 10th, six strokes off the leaders, as he continues his pursuit of Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Liang Wen-chong.
"I've been playing back-to-back events and its taking a toll on my game this week," Chapchai said. "I am not driving it well and my putting is not very steady."
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS