Ken Borland

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.

Graeme McDowell birdied the last hole and completed a round of 67 and claimed the lead in the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City on Friday.4.06pm– Lee Westwood has a tough chance for birdie on the 18th but leaves a lengthy putt short and pulled away to the left. So the defending champion and joint overnight leader finishes one stroke behind Graeme McDowell.

3.36pm– McDowell sinks another lengthy putt, this one from about 20 feet, to birdie the 18th hole and finish the second round on seven-under-par.

3.29pm – Lee Westwood joins the leaders on six-under as he strokes an 18-foot putt in for birdie on the par-four 15th hole.

3.04pm– McDowell sinks a beautiful 20-foot putt for birdie on the par-three 16th hole to move back to six-under and a share of the lead.

But there are three other golfers on six-under-par as well.

Jason Dufner rolls in a 15-footer for birdie on the 17th, while Martin Kaymer birdies the 15th to join McDowell, Dufner and Robert Karlsson in the lead.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer has shot a four-under-par 68 to reach seven-under for the tournament and lead Ian Woosnam by one.

2.43pm– Graeme McDowell’s tremendous run comes to an abrupt halt on the par-five 14th as his drive goes into the bushes. He needs to two more strokes to hack it back out, before his fourth shot, with a wood, goes into a fairway bunker. The former U.S. Open champion is eventually on the green in five, and then he two-putts.

Robert Karlsson hangs on to a one-stroke lead as his solid round continues with a birdie at the 10th to take him to five-under.

Martin Kaymer is on the same score after an eagle three at the same hole, while Jason Dufner birdies the 13th hole to also go to five-under.

Charl Schwartzel is on three-under after slicing his drive on the eighth deep into the bushveld. He has to play a provisional ball, which he puts in the middle of the fairway. His fourth is marvellous iron shot that finishes six feet from the flag, but the South African disappoints by not making the putt and has to settle for a double-bogey.

2.13pm– McDowell scorches around the turn to claim a one-stroke lead. His hot streak started with some good fortune on the eighth hole as his wayward tee shot bounces off the trees and back on to the fairway for him to make par.

The Northern Irishman then birdies the par-five ninth after his second shot just makes the fringe of the green on the edge of the water.

McDowell also birdies the 10th, 11th and chips in on the 13th to go to five-under for the day.

1.49pm– Kyung-Tae Kim is having a real rollercoaster round and he chips in from six metres off the green for eagle on the par-five 10th hole to go to one-under for the day, three-under overall.

1.38pm– Robert Karlsson hangs on to the lead with an amazing 60-foot putt for par, from the fringe of the green, on the par-four eighth hole.

1.27pm– Westwood plays an awful approach shot to the par-four sixth hole, leaving it in the bunker short and to the left of the flag. It leads to a bogey and Westwood is now on four-under-par, one shot behind Robert Karlsson.

Charl Schwartzel stays on four-under thanks to a remarkable par. Having reacted angrily to a missed birdie putt on the previous hole, Schwartzel takes three-wood off the sixth tee, but pulls it into long grass under a thorn tree to the left of the fairway. But despite a restricted backswing and having to bend over in his stance, the South African plays a brilliant second shot into the middle of the green and two-putts for par.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer has just picked up the sixth birdie of his round (along with two bogeys) to open up a four-shot lead over Mark Calcavecchia and Ian Woosnam.

1.13pm– Jason Dufner is playing solidly but has a cold putter again. The American collects his first birdie on the front nine on the par-five ninth hole to move to three-under-par, two shots off the lead. Playing partner Anders Hansen completes a remarkable par by rolling in a 30-foot putt from the edge of the green.

Darren Clarke is putting together a fine round to move off the bottom of the leaderboard, a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 10th moving him to three-under for the day and one-under-par overall.

12.56pm– Charl Schwartzel just can’t seem to get going today. He’s just slightly off his game, narrowly missing fairways and he can’t get his irons close to the pin. Now on the par-three fourth hole, his tee shot is just off the green but a superb chip shot leaves the ball tantalisingly close to the hole! Still no birdie for the South African!

12.40pm– It’s his lucky day! Darren Clarke chips in for birdie again, this time on the par-four eighth hole. The jovial Northern Irishman is now on level-par.

12.35pm– Westwood finds the middle of the green on the par-five second hole with his second shot and from there it’s a simple two-putt for birdie for the defending champion, moving him to five-under-par.

Karlsson birdies the second and third holes to also go to five-under.

12.21pm– Westwood’s first drive is in the middle of the fairway and he then puts his approach shot to the first pin just five feet from the hole, narrowly missing the birdie putt and a great opportunity to claim the lead for himself.

12.13pm– Luke Donald sinks a fine 15-foot birdie putt on the par-five second hole to join the cluster of players on three-under-par.

11.54am– Martin Kaymer makes a good start to his round as he sinks a seven-foot putt for birdie on the first. He therefore joins Kim, Robert Karlsson and Graeme McDowell on three-under, one shot behind Schwartzel and Westwood, who are yet to tee off.

Darren Clarke moves to one-over as he chips in for birdie on the par-three fourth hole.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer has made his third birdie of the day to move to six-under-par, one shot ahead of David Frost.

11.48am– Anders Hansen plays the par-five second hole beautifully to claim his second successive birdie on the second day. After a solid drive, he sends a fairway wood soaring marvellously to the apron just in front of the green, chips to five feet and then makes the putt.

11.44am– Kyung-Tae Kim launches a superb iron shot from 130 metres out to within two feet of the flag, making birdie to go to three-under-par, one shot off the pace set by Charl Schwartzel and Lee Westwood on the first day.

11.30am– The second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge is underway in partly cloudy, muggy conditions. Anders Hansen claims the first birdie of the day, on the par-four first hole, going to one-under-par. Francesco Molinari makes a bad start, however, as he bogeys the first hole and can only get a par on the par-five second.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Bernhard Langer has birdied two of the first three holes to claim the lead on five-under-par, one stroke ahead of David Frost and Ian Woosnam.

Charl Schwartzel got angry and got more than even as he scorched through the back nine to claim a share of the first-round lead in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City on Thursday.The South African was one-over-par midway through the round after a double-bogey at the ninth, his third shot finding the water. But his troubles ended there as he blazed through the back nine in just 31 shots, picking up five birdies to finish with a four-under-par 68.Defending champion Lee Westwood joined him there half-an-hour later with a birdie on the 18th, but there was little in common in their 68s.

They both dropped two shots, but Schwartzel’s came at one hole – the picturesque par-five ninth. As it was for much of the front nine, he was in trouble off the tee and he only managed to put his second into the semi-rough. The Masters champions’ decision to go for the green with his third shot looked foolhardy and so it proved as he plonked the ball into the water guarding the putting surface.

Westwood, in contrast, bogeyed the first hole and the par-three 12th, but eagled the ninth, so they were four shots apart on just that one hole. The Englishman hit driver and then five-iron to six feet for an easy-as-you-like eagle and proceeded through the rest of his round in similarly unruffled fashion.

Schwartzel, meanwhile, discovered some consistency off the tee on the back nine and his iron play was superb as he made beelines for the flags. His short game was also on song, and it needed to be, as he sunk good putts for birdie on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th holes, while his excellent chip out of the greenside bunker on 17 saved his par just after he had gained the lead.

‘Fearless’

“I got cross! I probably became fearless. Turning on one-over, I was not too happy with myself, I felt that I was playing better than that and sometimes that’s what you need to spur you on. I started releasing the club properly and was just firing at the flags,” Schwartzel said.

Robert Karlsson was in third place, a stroke behind, and a bogey five on the par-four 17th was a blow to his hopes of leading. It was a disappointing level-par back nine for the long-hitting Swede, who had gone out in 33 after three successive birdies from the second hole.

The 17th is a wonderful hole that brings the water unavoidably into play on either the first or second shots and it punished several of the golfers on Thursday.

World number one Luke Donald was in the lead on four-under when he pulled his drive left off the tee and into the water, having to reload and leading to a double-bogey and a 70 that left him in a tie for fourth with Jason Dufner, Simon Dyson, Martin Kaymer, Kyung-Tae Kim and Graeme McDowell.

Kaymer bogeyed the 17th, only avoiding a double by sinking a 12-foot putt, after his second shot was short and slid off the bank into the water.

Jason Dufner also bogeyed the penultimate hole, but it was a cold putter that struck the biggest blows to the American’s hopes as could pick up just one birdie on the back nine, when several more beckoned after his solid play from tee to green.

The Sun City debutant had four birdies on the front nine, but also had two bogeys.

Another debutant, South Korean Kyung-Tae Kim, closed with a highly-creditable 70, birdieing the par-five 10th and 14th holes before parring his way in for an impressive first round.

But it is the home favourite who has gathered some early momentum and lived up to his billing as one of the favourites for the title.

“It didn’t look too promising after the turn, so I was happy with my finish. It gave me a nice positive vibe going into the next three rounds,” Schwartzel said.

But no one in the 12-man field is outside contention, with the gap between the leader and the last-placed Darren Clarke being just six shots.

The Open champion did not have the best of days, with three bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-four sixth, but the popular Northern Irishman ensured the rest of the field did not get away from him by finishing with a 74.

In the Nedbank Senior Challenge, Tom Lehman will be agonizing over his final hole. The American had a one-stroke lead as he stood on the tee, but after holing a lengthy putt for double-bogey, he had slipped down to fifth place on two-under-par.

It looks like a tremendous battle for the smaller crystal orb, with David Frost, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price and Ian Woosnam, all members of the Million Dollar winners’ circle, tied for the lead on three-under.