Ken Borland

The pair were on five-under-par through 10 holes, two strokes ahead of Englishman Danny Willett and Charl Schwartzel on three-under, while five golfers were on two-under – veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jamie Donaldson, Brooks Koepka and Alexander Levy.

UPDATE:

Fisher masterclass: Nedbank Golf Challenge update

Both Coetzee and Fisher relied on precision iron play to collect five birdies, with no bogeys, and they vaulted into the lead around the turn with a pair of birdies on the par-five ninth and 10th holes.

Thailand’s Aphibarnrat had provided plenty of entertainment for the Sun City spectators as he claimed an early share of the lead when he played the first five holes in three-under-par, with four birdies and a bogey. Coetzee claimed birdies on the first three holes to provide early cheer for those hoping for a first South African winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge since Trevor Immelman in 2007.

The opening holes of the European Tour event held few worries for the golfers as Joost Luiten, Dawie van der Walt, Stephen Gallacher and Willett all picked up an early brace of birdies.

READ MORE: Coetzee stays in Sun City hunt

Van der Walt, in the field by virtue of winning the 2013 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, made the fastest start of all by birdieing the first hole and then chipping in for eagle on the 520m par-five second, but he could not pick up any more shots on the next three holes, dropping a stroke on the par-three fourth after finding the greenside bunker and then leaving his chip way past the hole. Another bogey on the eighth left him on one-under-par, alongside Gallacher.

A disastrous triple-bogey seven at the 11th saw Luiten slump to one-over-par for his round.

Thomas Bjorn, the defending champion, started where he left off last year in his brilliant final-round 65 by birdieing the first hole, but his wayward hitting saw him go out in three-over 39 as he collected a double-bogey and two bogeys thereafter.

South African Tim Clark, who teed off in the first group, set the early pace with birdies at the first two holes, but he then lost his way with a bogey at the fifth and a double-bogey at the tricky par-four eighth, before getting back under par with birdies at the 10th and 11th holes.

Aphibarnrat, a Sun City rookie, showed that he had all the information he needed on the Gary Player Country Club course as he started birdie-birdie, but Coetzee stayed in contact.

The conditions at Sun City were close to perfect, a slight breeze helping to offset the heat, and the golfers took advantage with 17 of them under par.

http://citizen.co.za/286588/coetzee-sets-golf-challenge-pace/

Aphibarnrat played the first five holes in three-under-par, with four birdies and a bogey, while those hoping for a first South African winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge since Trevor Immelman in 2007, will be heartened by George Coetzee’s start, the debutant claiming birdies on the first three holes to take a share of the lead.

UPDATE:

Fisher masterclass: Nedbank Golf Challege update

The opening holes of the European Tour event held few worries for the golfers as Joost Luiten, Dawie van der Walt, Stephen Gallacher and Danny Willett were all on two-under-par.

Van der Walt, in the field by virtue of winning the 2013 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, made the fastest start of all by birdieing the first hole and then chipping in for eagle on the 520m par-five second, but could not pick up any more shots on the next three holes, dropping a stroke on the par-three fourth after finding the greenside bunker and then leaving his chip way past the hole.

Thomas Bjorn, the defending champion, started where he left off last year in his brilliant final-round 65, by birdieing the first hole.

South African Tim Clark, who teed off in the first group, set the early pace with birdies at the first two holes, but he then lost his way with a bogey at the fifth and a double-bogey at the tricky par-four eighth.

Aphibarnrat, a Sun City rookie, showed that he had all the information he needed on the Gary Player Country Club course as he started birdie-birdie, but Coetzee stayed in contact thanks to some precision iron play.

The conditions at Sun City were close to perfect, a slight breeze helping to offset the heat, and the golfers took advantage with a dozen already under par as the first group reached the turn.

http://citizen.co.za/286548/coetzee-stays-in-sun-city-hunt/

Recent rains means the rough is up – but not as high as in some years – while hot weather the last couple of days will make the greens firmer and faster, adding to the difficulty once golfers have safely found the fairway.

Defending champion Thomas Bjorn, whose 65 on the final day last year won him the title and his biggest paycheque ever on his third attempt, said on Wednesday that it was a tough course to tame.

Round one draw – tee times

10.10am – Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Tim Clark (SA), Shane Lowry (Ireland).

10.21am – Joost Luiten (Netherlands), Jaco Ahlers (SA), Kevin Na (USA).

10.32am – Marc Warren (Scotland), Danie van Ronder (SA), Danny Willett (England).

10.43am – Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Lee Westwood (England), Martin Kaymer (Germany).

10.54am  – Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Dawie van der Walt (SA), Brendon Todd (USA).

11.05am – Jonas Blixt (Sweden), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Mikko Ilonen (Finland).

11.16am – George Coetzee (SA), Marcel Siem (Germany), Ross Fisher (England).

11.27am – Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand).

11.38am – Brooks Koepka (USA), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Alexander Levy (France).

11.49am – Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Charl Schwartzel (SA), Luke Donald (England).

“If you’re not playing well, then this course is a beast to get around, there are certainly stretches that can really bite you. But there are opportunities to score well too, which is the nature of a good course.

“I remember the Sunday last year was a great day, but it was a tough battle with good players and little things went my way on the back nine. It was certainly a big boost for me, it gave me the belief that I could make another Ryder Cup team, that on really tough courses I can still compete with the best, the game is still there.

“I have a good eye for the course and hopefully I can put up a strong defence, but somebody will kick-start the 2015 year in a great way here,” the 43-year-old seasoned professional said.

Bjorn is not renown for bombing the ball off the tee, but his victory last year will provide inspiration for two South African challengers – Louis Oosthuizen and Tim Clark. Both said they will adopt a cautious approach as the $6.5 million event starts at 10.10am on Thursday morning with Clark in the opening three-ball alongside Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez and Irishman Shane Lowry.

“On the first day you just want to start with a solid round, to set it up. If you’re struggling with your game, then this is a tough course, and with the new thing of 30 guys playing, anyone who gets hot could run away with it.

“But I’ve played here a few times and every year has been a bit better. My game is in good shape after a few weeks off, I’ve done some practice and it feels pretty good. But you never really know what to expect and I’ll just try to stay out of my way,” Clark, whose last start saw him finish second in the lucrative World Golf Championships HSBC Champions, said.

The 38-year-old is making his fifth appearance in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and was runner-up to a runaway Lee Westwood in 2010 in his last outing at Sun City. In 2009 he finished one stroke behind playoff winner Robert Allenby and Henrik Stenson, while his other finishes were sixth in 2005 and tied-10th in 2003.

Oosthuizen is making his fourth appearance in the last five years and is also hoping to learn from those experiences and improve on his previous best finish of fourth in 2012.

“I’m confident going into the tournament, but I want to take it slow. It’s the type of place where a bad hole is around the corner. There are tough tee shots and spots that you need to stay away from. I’ll be cautious out there and take it slow.

“The rough is always very thick and you need to hit fairways and not just take driver and bomb it. There are a lot of holes out there where I’ll be hitting five woods, three-woods and three-irons just to get myself in play,” Oosthuizen said.

One man lurking ominously in the field is Westwood, the two-time champion and Ryder Cup star, who said he was coming into the tournament with confidence.

“I’ve been lucky enough to win it a couple of times, I’ve been coming here since 1997 and it’s a championship I’ve always held in very high regard and want to win. My scoring average is pretty good round here and I’ve been looking forward to this week for a while. Hopefully I can play as well as I did a few years ago.

“There hasn’t been a lot of rain recently so the rough isn’t that long. There could be some low scoring this week, but obviously the conditions will dictate whether or not that’s the case. That’s always the way in professional golf,” Westwood said.

http://citizen.co.za/286032/preview-nedbank-golf-challenge/