Bright day for Nixon at gloomy Glendower
Schwartzel, the world number 22 looking for his first SA Open crown, threw his hat in the ring as well with a faultless round that included five birdies, three of them in his last four holes as he began on the back nine.
The sun was conspicuously absent from Glendower Golf Club for most of Thursday, but it was nevertheless a bright, happy day for Englishman Matthew Nixon as he snatched the lead after the first round of the South African Open.
Nixon started on the 10th tee and reeled off three successive birdies to set the tone for an eight-under-par 64 that was capped by an eagle on the par-five eighth hole.
Italy’s Marco Crespi and South Africa’s Jbe’ Kruger, who both notched four successive birdies between the 12th and 15th holes, fired seven-under-par 65s to share second place, one shot back.
Christiaan Basson, who led the morning field with a 66, was joined in third place by afternoon finisher Retief Goosen, while Charl Schwartzel, the highest-ranked golfer in the tournament, was a stroke further back on five-under-par 67.
Nixon, who has kept his European Tour card for the first time in 2013, needed just 22 putts – a personal best – to get round Glendower.
The 24-year-old picked up further birdies on the par-three 14th and 17th holes to overpower the back nine in 31 shots and then shrugged off a bogey on the par-five second hole with yet another birdie on a par-three, the 201-metre third hole.
Nixon finished strongly with a birdie on the seventh and then an eagle on the eighth, snatching the lead as darkness fell in Ekurhuleni.
“That was a weird one, I didn’t really expect that. The weather’s been horrendous in England and I haven’t played a lot of golf lately. I just wanted to not embarrass myself,” Nixon said after his round.
Despite a blustery wind gaining strength in the afternoon, Basson’s early lead was steadily chipped away. Crespi holed his second shot from 136 metres for an eagle on the seventh hole, and Kruger then joined the party as he eagled the par-five eighth and then came home in 32 shots.
“It was lovely to wake up in my own bed this morning and that just makes you more relaxed. I hit the ball fairly well, the swing is coming back, but the highlight was my putting on the back nine,” Kruger said.
Goosen, who has not won on the regular tour since claiming the Transitions Championship in the United States in March 2009, birdied his first two holes and his only blemish was a bogey four at the sixth hole, when he three-putted. The two-time SA Open champion also picked up shots on the fifth, eighth, 11th, 15th and 18th holes.
“It was a great start and I played solid out there, although I did have a couple of good breaks when bad tee-shots didn’t go too far into the trees. I had no issues with the back and the wind doesn’t affect you as much on this course because you can hit through it. A lot of holes were downwind coming in and then you can hit it forever,” Goosen said.
Schwartzel, the world number 22 looking for his first SA Open crown, threw his hat in the ring as well with a faultless round that included five birdies, three of them in his last four holes as he began on the back nine.
“I had a plan mapped out, and I stuck by it, to basically eliminate mistakes. A great finish made my score look even better, but I felt I hit the ball very well and I’m in a good position going forward,” Schwartzel said.
Sixty-four of the 156-man field were under par, but former world number one David Duval (74), 2007 champion James Kingston (75), Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley (75) and Sunshine Tour Order of Merit leader Darren Fichardt (77) were amongst those who were over par.
