Ken Borland

 

Lee Westwood made full use of one of the best ball-striking days of his career to post a course-record 62 and soar into a seven-shot lead after the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City on Saturday.Westwood’s astonishing 10-under-par round actually could quite easily have been even better – eagle putts at the par-five ninth and 14th narrowly missed the hole.

The defending champion was invariably in the middle of the fairway off the tee and his iron-play was also magnificent, just about every approach finishing pin-high. Westwood’s putter grew hotter and hotter to ensure he did not waste the plethora of scoring chances he gave himself.

And so the Englishman goes into the final round on 16-under-par. Robert Karlsson and Graeme McDowell are tied for second on nine-under, with Jason Dufner and Martin Kaymer on eight-under.

Westwood’s fun started on the second hole with a comfortable birdie, and it set the tone for an imperious display on the par-fives by the world number three. He birdied all four of them and they set the ball rolling for the three sets of three successive birdies he achieved on South Africa’s number one-ranked course.

The first hat-trick was between the second and fourth holes as the 38-year-old struck a beautiful approach shot seven feet from the flag on the par-four third and then a wonderful tee shot to six feet on the par-three fourth.

The lead was his as he overtook McDowell, before the action was stopped for 90 minutes due to a thunderstorm. But that was actuallly the calm before the real storm as the former world number one then embarked on the second birdie-spree of his round as he reached the turn.

Another marvellous approach shot left him 10 feet from the flag on the par-five ninth, and his eagle putt looked on the road to the hole before lipping out. Further birdies at 10 and 11 meant Westwood was two ahead, his ostensible chasers being reduced to supporting acts as he brought the famous course to its knees.

Westwood is perhaps the best in the world off the tees and his magnificent driving set up further birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th holes, while a birdie at the par-three 16th made it four in a row.

He came to the 18th needing a birdie to match Padraig Harrington’s placing-assisted round of 61 in 2001 and his approach shot went on to the fringe. With memories of his chip-in at the same hole in last year’s final round still fresh, Westwood’s chip was on line for the cup but pulled up short.

But the par was enough as Westwood left the course to a standing ovation.

Karlsson’s third successive 69 was left as an afterthought by Westwood’s brilliance, but it too was a fine round, marred only by successive bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes, where he hit his tee-shot in the bunker and was unable to get up and down.

It was overnight leader McDowell who actually stuck to Westwood’s coat-tails the best and he trailled by four with four holes to play.

It was a poor decision in terms of course management that proved a major blow to McDowell, leading to a double-bogey six at the 17th.

The Northern Irishman’s drive was into the fairway bunker and the ball was lying near the front lip. The green, with the water lurking so dangerously, was 153 metres away, so his decision to go for it was foolhardy.

McDowell’s second shot caught the lip and barely cleared the bunker, leaving him with a lengthy third shot, which he promptly deposited in the greenside bunker. A 25-foot bogey putt shaved the hole and the 2010 U.S. Open champion left with a double-bogey and a seven-shot deficit.

Dufner produced some top-class iron-play, but for a third straight day, the American suffered with a cold putter and had to settle for a 70 that included just one bogey, on the last.

Charl Schwartzel looked to be in the mood to make a charge himself as he completed the front nine in three-under-par, but he left an eagle-putt five feet short on the 10th. The South African then plonked his second on the par-four 11th into the greenside bunker and made bogey after a plugged lie. Schwartzel’s 68 was a good round, but well short of what was required to trouble Westwood.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Mark Calcavecchia fired an impressive five-under-par 67 to claim the title by one stroke as both Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam left birdie putts on the 18th a foot from the hole.

A magnificent course-record 62 shot Lee Westwood to the head of the field after the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City on Saturday.5.35pm– The round ends with Jason Dufner slipping out of the tie for second as he bogeys the 18th hole.

Dufner leaks his drive out right, his approach to the green is off the the right as well, and then his par putt is a poor attempt which he stubs short and left of the hole.

5.20pm– Graeme McDowell undoes much of his earlier good work with a poor decision. Having found the fairway bunker on 17, he then tried to go for the green 153 metres away, despite lying near the lip of the sand trap. His second catches the lip and barely makes it out of the bunker. His third is then into the greenside bunker and his putt for bogey, from 25 feet away, just shaves the hole. The double-bogey drops the Northern Irishman to nine-under-par, seven behind Westwood.

Robert Karlsson and Jason Dufner are also on nine-under.

5.04pm– Westwood’s approach to the 18th green is on to the fringe and his chip for birdie is on target but just a little short. Nevertheless, the par is enough for Westwood to complete a course-record, 10-under-par 62 that gives him a five-shot lead over Graeme McDowell. Phenomenal golf.

4.47pm– Absolutely extraordinary. Westwood goes to 10-under for the round as he eases a six-foot putt into the 17th hole for yet another birdie.

4.36pm– Three birdies in a row for an astonishing third time today by Westwood! He completes this hat-trick on the par-three 16th.

Graeme McDowell is hanging in there and he birdies the par-five 14th to stay four shots behind Westwood.

Mark Calcavecchia is the winner of the Nedbank Senior Challengeon nine-under-par.

Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam tie for second on eight-under after both leave their birdie putts on 18 a foot away from the hole.

4.26pm– The unstoppable Westwood goes to eight-under for the third round as he nonchalantly rolls in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-four 15th hole.

4.08pm– Westwood continues his perfect record of birdies at the par-fives today on the 14th hole. His second-shot approach is once again into the middle of the green and, although he slightly pulls his 35-foot eagle putt, the birdie is a formality.

In the final round of the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Mark Calcavecchia has signed for a 67 and finishes on nine-under-par overall. That means Bernhard Langer or Ian Woosnam have to make a birdie on the last hole to prevent him from winning the title.

4.03pm– Luke Donald is having a better day and he moves to three-under for the round, six-under-par overall, as he drains a 20-foot putt on the 15th for his second successive birdie.

3.58pm– Robert Karlsson has dropped four shots off the pace as he sticks his tee-shot on the par-three 12th into the bunker. He can’t get up-and-down, so the Swede makes his second successive bogey.

3.46pm– Graeme McDowell reignites his challenge as he chips in from the fringe for eagle at the par-five 10th hole. The overnight leader is back to 10-under, tied with Robert Karlsson two behind Westwood.

3.35pm– Westwood gets his second hat-trick of birdies in the round! The defending champion plays another superb second shot into the par-five 10th green, setting up an easy two-putt, and another brilliant approach shot leads to another birdie on the par-four 11th. Westwood is now on 12-under, two ahead of Robert Karlsson.

The Nedbank Senior Challengeis heading for a thrilling conclusion with Mark Calcavecchia leading by one stroke with two holes to play. Second-placed Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam both have three holes to play.

3.11pm– Charl Schwartzel drops a shot as he plonks his second on the par-four 11th hole into a greenside bunker. It’s a bit of a plugged lie and the South African can only blast the ball out back over the green. He chips and putts for bogey, taking him back to five-under-par, five off the lead.

Martin Kaymer, meanwhile, is going in the other direction, with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes taking him to eight-under-par.

3.06pm– Westwood’s marvellous second shot into the island green on the ninth lands just 10 feet from the flag. The defending champion’s eagle putt is a little firm and it lips out. But Westwood completes the birdie coming back to complete an outward nine of just 32 strokes, putting him on 10-under-par, one ahead of Karlsson.

2.58pm– Charl Schwartzel has not made allowance for the greens slowing down after the rain and leaves his eagle putt on the par-five 10th hole short. But the South African makes the five-foot putt for birdie to move to four-under for the day (the best so far) and six-under overall.

2.49pm– Graeme McDowell makes a real mess of the sixth hole. He goes from the fairway bunker to the greenside bunker and then misses a 25-foot putt for par, leaving it well short. In the end he does well just to drop a single shot and is down to seven-under.

2.48pm– Robert Karlsson sinks a 10-foot putt for birdie after an excellent tee-shot on the par-three seventh hole, allowing him to share the lead with Lee Westwood on nine-under-par. The Swede is three-under-par today.

2.34pmPlay has resumed after a 90-minute delay with Graeme McDowell and Jason Dufner making contrasting pars on the fifth hole.

McDowell narrowly misses his birdie, while Dufner has to get up and down from the greenside bunker and sinks a six-foot putt for par.

1.00pm– A storm is brewing over the Pilanesberg hills and play is suspended. Lee Westwood leads on nine-under-par through six holes, with Graeme McDowell and Robert Karllson on eight-under.

12.54pm– Jason Dufner gets his third round going with a birdie at the par-three fourth hole to go to seven-under-par. His tee shot is wayward, hitting the bank left of the green and bouncing down into the bunker. But the American chips in for a wonderful birdie!

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer is now just a single shot ahead of Mark Calcavecchia and Ian Woosnam after successive bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes, where he plonked his second into the water in front of the green.

12.46pm– Robert Karlsson chips in beautifully from the greenside bunker on the par-three fourth hole for birdie, taking him to eight-under, tied for second with Graeme McDowell, just a stroke behind Westwood.

12.33pm– Three successive birdies for Lee Westwood! The defending champion’s superb tee shot on the par-three fourth hole leaves him with a six-foot putt for birdie. which he nails to take the lead.

Overnight leader Graeme McDowell moves back to within one shot of Westwood, however, when his superb approach shot to the second green leaves him with a 10-foot eagle putt and an easy birdie.

Darren Clarke has hit a wonderful tee shot to three feet on the par-three seventh hole and collects another birdie.

12.24pm– Successive birdies for Westwood give him the overall lead on eight-under-par, the defending champion easily picking up a shot on the par-five second and then rolling in a seven-foot putt on the par-four third hole.

Charl Schwartzel picks up his second birdie of the day with a fine putt on the fifth hole to move to four-under-par.

In the final round of the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer has opened up a three-shot lead through seven holes over Ian Woosnam and Mark Calcavecchia.

12.04pm– Darren Clarke cancels out his earlier birdie by three-putting for bogey on the fifth hole.

11.46am– Schwartzel finds the greenside bunker on the par-five second, but his excellent chip shot hits the pin, leaving him with a simple birdie putt.

Francesco Molinari looks like having a much better day as he birdies the second and third holes to go to three-over-par.

11.34am– Darren Clarke picks up where he left off yesterday with an early birdie. The Open champion is 20 feet from the flag after just two shots on the 520-metre par-five second hole and duly completes his birdie, moving him to two-under-par. Clarke is now level with Charl Schwartzel, who missed an ideal birdie chance on the first hole, failing to hole a five-foot putt.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, overnight leader Bernhard Langer birdied the first hole to go to eight-under-par. But Ian Woosnam birdies the par-five second hole and Mark Calcavecchia has picked up two birdies in his his first four holes to move to six-under, so the German is not pulling away.

The Gary Player Country Club course pulled the rug out beneath Charl Schwartzel’s feet as the Nedbank Golf Challenge second-round lead was snatched by Graeme McDowell on an intriguing day at Sun City on Friday.Schwartzel’s first-round lead was whittled away as he struggled to a two-over-par 74, while McDowell shot the round of the tournament thus far – a five-under-par 67 – to soar into first position on seven-under overall.

Jason Dufner and Martin Kaymer produced the other best rounds of the day – 68s – to climb to six-under and a tie for second place along with Robert Karlsson and Lee Westwood, who both had solid if unspectacular days.

It was obvious from early on that Schwartzel was not quite on his game on Friday: he was narrowly missing fairways off the tee and couldn’t get his iron shots close to the pins. But the South African held things together well to stay in sight of the leaders with pars on the first seven holes.

The frustrations of not being able to make a move everntually told, however, and Schwartzel had to make use of a provisional ball on the par-four eighth after losing his first drive in the bushveld. His fourth shot was a superb iron to six feet from the flag, but the lone local in the field then missed the putt for bogey.

Schwartzel partially made up for the double drop with a birdie on the par-five ninth, but the back nine was just as frustrating with a bogey on the par-four 13th leaving the Masters champion five shots adrift of McDowell’s pace.

The Northern Irishman birdied the first hole, but it was around the turn that the 2010 U.S Open champion made the surge that would give him the lead.

Anyone wanting to win the crystal orb on Sunday afternoon generally needs to make the most of the turn, particularly the back-to-back par-fives at nine and 10, and McDowell did that, birdieing both holes and then also making birdies at the 11th and 13th holes.

He was the leader but it did not last for long as his hot streak came to a sudden halt with a double-bogey on the par-five 14th.

McDowell had enjoyed a huge bit of good fortune on the eighth when his drive was heading deep into the bush, but it hit a tree and bounced back into the fairway, allowing him to make par.

The 32-year-old tugged his drive left again on the 14th and this time it landed deep in the Pilanesburg wilds.

When McDowell got to his ball, it was nestling on a rock and, in trying to hack it back on to the fairway, the club bounced off the rock behind the ball and he ended up with a freshie. McDowell got it right second time round, but he then hit a three-wood into the fairway bunker. He was eventually on the green in five and then two-putted.

But McDowell clearly has the gene for composure under pressure because he regrouped and birdies on the par-three 16th and on the par-four closing hole – both 20-footers – gave him the lead.

Karlsson was the epitome of Scandinavian efficiency as he avoided the terrors of the Gary Player Country Club in a bogey-free round of 69. He kept his card blemish-free thanks to an amazing 50-foot curling putt for par from off the green on the eighth.

Fellow European star Kaymer is also someone who seldom blanches in the face of adversity and he eagled the 10th and picked up three birdies in a round that was marred by just one bogey. The German’s 68 gave him a share of second place as well.

Dufner was extremely solid from tee to green and the American will feel he could have murdered the course if he could have sunk some putts on the first two days. Nevertheless, Dufner’s putter warmed up on the back nine on Friday and he shot a 68 to lie just one shot off the lead.

Friday’s second round was something of a trial for joint overnight leader Westwood, but the Englishman will be pleased he finished a tough day just one shot off the pace.

Westwood birdied the par-five second hole to claim the lead for himself, but today was not a moving day for the world number three. Further birdies on the ninth and 15th holes mean he is still very much in the picture though.

Kyung-Tae Kim, after an incident-packed 70 that included an eagle, four birdies and four bogeys, and Simon Dyson are tied for sixth on four-under-par.

South Africa’s number one ranked course also toyed with the emotions of Darren Clarke, who chipped in twice for birdies on the front nine, and then made six birdies, a bogey and two double-bogeys on the back nine. The Northern Irishman is nevertheless under par and has moved up the leaderboard after his 69.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer is in a one-stroke lead after five birdies in his first 10 holes set up a 68.

Ian Woosnam, who won the first ever million dollar cheque in golf history here in 1987, is in second place on six-under-par, with Mark Calcavecchia, who has the best stroke-average in the Champions Tour, also very much in the hunt in Saturday’s final round on four-under-par.