Time to dial up the birdies
No Blue Monster so expect low scores at CCJ’S Gentle Giant
RICHARD Sterne brought the Green Monster that is Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s East Course to its knees to win the Joburg Open last month. Last week Tiger Woods tamed the so-called Blue Monster lay-out on his way to victory in the WGCCadillac Championship at the Doral Resort in Miami.
And the Woodmead course at Country Club Johannesburg, where the R3,75-million Telkom PGA Championship begins today ... is it a monster? “No, it’s no monster; let’s just call it the Gentle Giant,” says defending champion Keith Horne, who won here last year on 19-under-par 269.
“It’s a beautifully manicured course, and while it certainly isn’t a pushover the fairways are quite generous and if you can drive the ball well you can set yourself up for birdies. The greens are maybe not quite as good as in previous years but they’re still running true and I’m sure we’re going to see low scores again. You can’t just sit back; you have to be aggressive.”
Horne, 41, sees himself as a late bloomer. “I’m improving all the time and I’d like to think I’ve still got a couple of good years ahead of me. You know, you used to peak in your mid-30s to 40s, but with fitness and such a lot of players in their 40s and older are winning. Peter Senior won in Australia at 53. Ernie Els and Darren Clarke both won The Open after turning 40.”
Talking of low numbers, there certainly have been some here at CCJ in past Telkom PGA Championships. Louis Oosthuizen shot 266 in 2007, and a mind-blowing 28under 260 en route to victory the following year, while George Coetzee’s 261 aggregate in 2011 was also highly impressive.
Who the low scores will come from this week is uncertain, but it would not be surprising to see Horne again contending, along with the in-form Sterne – who tied for 12th at Doral on Sunday – as well as Darren Fichardt who won the Africa Open last month and leads the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit with R4,1-million in earnings from just four tournaments.
“It’s great to be in the mix, and leading the money race,” Fichardt said. “There are a couple of holes here at Country Club where, if you’re not a long hitter, you have to fly the bunkers off the tee but overall it’s not too demanding. I think it’s going to come down to the flat stick (putter) and who chips and putts best, and hopefully that’s me.”
Michiel Bothma, winner here in 2010, has reason to believe he could do well again as he turned 40 yesterday. “It’s funny, but three times in the past I’ve won tournaments when there’s been birthdays in the family that week – either me, my wife or my dad. So hopefully I can get another nice present this week.”
André Cruse, who plays out of CCJ, reaches a momentous milestone this week as he will be teeing up in his 500th Sunshine Tour event. He is believed to be the first South African to reach this landmark. And don’t be fooled by the 47-year-old’s grey hair: This guy can still shoot the lights out.
First played for in 1926 in a match play format, the PGA Championship is the second oldest tournament in South Africa after the SA Open. Bobby Locke won it seven times, Gary Player four times, and Dale Hayes three years in a row in the 1970s. Major winners with their names on the trophy? There’s plenty: Locke, Player, Nick Price, Ernie Els and Louis Oosthuizen, as well as Americans Tom Weiskopf, Hale Irwin and Corey Pavin. Lots of history, then, and expect lots of birdies too over the next four days over this Gentle Giant.
Giant of a course!