Rock leads in South Africa
Darren Clarke is in contention at the South African Airways Open
Thursday, 13, Dec 2007 09:59
Englishman Robert Rock defied windy conditions to secure a one-shot lead at the end of the first round of the South African Airways Open in Paarl.
The 30-year-old, ranked 449 in the world, hit five birdies and two bogeys in his round of two-under-par 70. He is a shot ahead of home stars Alex Haindl, Charl Schwartzel and Ulrich Van den Berg.
"Even at 0700 it was blowing pretty hard. I had 29 putts and hit 10 fairways, so overall I was striking the ball well and holing crucial putts to save par and make birdies," said Rock.
"All my bogeys were not the fault of the wind, they were my own mistakes. I hit good shots and gave myself chances, but I also messed up quite a fair bit. If you hit a bad shot here you get punished."
Darren Clarke is one of seven players who are in contention on level-par. South African Retief Goosen is on two-over and Australian legend Greg Norman is a further shot back.
Another home favourite Ernie Els, who blew the chance to win the Alfred Dunhill event last week after he triple-bogeyed the last hole, is on five-over.
Two-time winner Trevor Immelman had to withdraw from the event after he suffered difficulty breathing. It was revealed that he had a lesion on the 11th right rib, which will be surgically removed and rule him out for six weeks.