| Goosen is a Record-breaker at Wentworth Club |
 |
The US Open Champion did not lose a single hole in beating the previous best margin of 11 and 10 recorded by Mark O’Meara over Vijay Singh in the 1998 semi-final. Clearly, playing golf in the pouring rain held no appeal to Goosen, who seemed like a man on a mission to get the job done as quickly as possible.
While none of the other seven first round ties managed to finish before darkness fell, Goosen hit Maggert with the force of an express train, reaching the midway point ten up – matching O’Meara’s achievement six years ago.
There was no stopping the phlegmatic South African, who matched Maggert’s birdies at the fourth and fifth before going on to win by 12 and 11. However with two and a half hours being lost to the weather early in the morning – play began at 10.50am instead of the scheduled 8.20 – it meant that Goosen was the only first round finisher.
The remaining seven ties will resume at 8am on Friday morning, with defending champion, Ernie Els, close to victory at two up with two to play against reigning PGA Champion, Scott Drummond of Scotland. By way of consolation, play was suspended after Els completed the 16th hole – right next to the front gate of his home on Wentworth Estate.
However the majority of the other matches hang in the balance. Korea’s KJ Choi holds a one hole lead over Argentina’s Angel Cabrera with four holes remaining while Ireland’s Padraig Harrington is all square with Chris Riley of America while Mike Weir of Canada and Frenchman Thomas Levet are also level with four to play.
All of which played into the hands of Goosen, who knew he could enjoy a good night’s sleep without facing an early rise, unlike the other 16 golfers still involved in the Championship.
He said: “I wasn’t sure what the record was. I thought it might be 10 and 8 or something like that. Okay, it’s nice to have that achievement. Jeff didn’t play his best but I was ten or 11 under par for the day, which isn’t bad.
“Did I feel sorry for him? Well, would he have felt sorry for me if it had been reversed? Even though I was ten up after 18 I was determined to keep playing well. You know how quickly things can turn in match play.”
 |
The US Open Champion did not lose a single hole in beating the previous best margin of 11 and 10 recorded by Mark O’Meara over Vijay Singh in the 1998 semi-final. Clearly, playing golf in the pouring rain held no appeal to Goosen, who seemed like a man on a mission to get the job done as quickly as possible.
While none of the other seven first round ties managed to finish before darkness fell, Goosen hit Maggert with the force of an express train, reaching the midway point ten up – matching O’Meara’s achievement six years ago.
There was no stopping the phlegmatic South African, who matched Maggert’s birdies at the fourth and fifth before going on to win by 12 and 11. However with two and a half hours being lost to the weather early in the morning – play began at 10.50am instead of the scheduled 8.20 – it meant that Goosen was the only first round finisher.
The remaining seven ties will resume at 8am on Friday morning, with defending champion, Ernie Els, close to victory at two up with two to play against reigning PGA Champion, Scott Drummond of Scotland. By way of consolation, play was suspended after Els completed the 16th hole – right next to the front gate of his home on Wentworth Estate.
However the majority of the other matches hang in the balance. Korea’s KJ Choi holds a one hole lead over Argentina’s Angel Cabrera with four holes remaining while Ireland’s Padraig Harrington is all square with Chris Riley of America while Mike Weir of Canada and Frenchman Thomas Levet are also level with four to play.
England’s Lee Westwood holds a strong position, three up on Open Champion, Todd Hamilton of the United States with seven holes remaining, Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain all square with Steve Flesch of the US after 28 holes and Bernhard Langer leading Number Two seed and World Number One, Vijay Singh of Fiji, also after 28 holes.
All of which played into the hands of Goosen, who knew he could enjoy a good night’s sleep without facing an early rise, unlike the other 16 golfers still involved in the Championship.
He said: “I wasn’t sure what the record was. I thought it might be 10 and 8 or something like that. Okay, it’s nice to have that achievement. Jeff didn’t play his best but I was ten or 11 under par for the day, which isn’t bad.
“Did I feel sorry for him? Well, would he have felt sorry for me if it had been reversed? Even though I was ten up after 18 I was determined to keep playing well. You know how quickly things can turn in match play.”
Meanwhile Drummond, the 16th seed, gave Number One Els a true examination, going into lunch two up on the five-time champion. However the South African won the first three holes in the afternoon to edge ahead. Now the young Scot will have to win the last two holes in the morning to take the tie into extra holes.
http://www.europeantour.com/