Ken Borland

Louis Oosthuizen once again ate something dodgy at the Sun City beach party but had recovered sufficiently by Saturday to position himself nicely just one stroke behind leader Martin Kaymer after the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club.

Kaymer shot a solid two-under-par 70 on Saturday to move to five-under overall, but Oosthuizen closed in on the former world number one with a three-under 69, the joint best round of the day.

Fellow South African Charl Schwartzel is one stroke back after a 70, while two-time defending champion Lee Westwood and rising American star Bill Haas are tied for fourth on two-under-par.

When Oosthuizen made his NGC debut in 2010, he suffered a reaction to eating seafood at the famous beach party at the Valley of the Waves and finished last.

“Two years ago, the whole tournament felt like a blur, I just felt terrible,” Oosthuizen said.

Unbelievably, the South African once again picked up a stomach bug at this year’s beach party and did well to struggle his way to an even-par 72 in the second round.

“Yesterday I wasn’t feeling good at all. Today I still had a bit of cramps and pain in my stomach area, but at least I was able to eat a bit, to get something in me,” Oosthuisen said on Saturday after his round.

The 30-year-old from Mossel Bay produced a skilful display of golf on Saturday, thriving in the tough conditions as sunny skies gave way to cloud and occasional light rain.

“The weather was like on the coast, the wind was all over the place and the ball just didn’t go as far. The rain didn’t do much to make the greens easier either,” Oosthuizen said.

Kaymer, however, is in pole position after recovering from a bogey on the par-four third hole to collect three birdies and not drop another shot.

The German said it had taken him a while to lock down his distance control after a dramatic overnight change in weather.

“It was a bit more difficult than yesterday, especially the first few holes because usually the ball goes a bit further in the heat,” Kaymer said.

“Usually the ball goes 10% further, but it took a while to work out whether it was 10% less today or 5% less. And the wind was swirling around on a few holes too.”

Overnight leader Paul Lawrie’s challenge waned as he struggled to a 75 on Saturday to trail Kaymer by four shots, four bogeys in his first eight holes serving to derail his round.

Schwartzel played some inspired golf, dropping just one shot after a wayward drive on the testing par-four eighth hole as home fans contemplated a first South African triumph in the exhibition event since 2007.

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The Nedbank Golf Challenge enters its third round at the Gary Player Country Club on Saturday and, thus far, the scoring has not set the world alight.

In fact, it is Bernhard Langer, the 55-year-old leader of the Champions Challenge who has been the most impressive golfer thus far. The German’s nine-under-par tally after two rounds has given him a four-shot lead over Jay Haas in the concurrent tournament for senior golfers, but Langer is five shots better off than the NGC leader, Scotsman Paul Lawrie.

The secret to Langer’s success has been clear-thinking, wise strategy and successful execution that has seen him generally avoid the brutal rough which often waits just a couple of metres off the fairway.

Lawrie has followed a similar, conservative strategy and has recorded just two bogeys, one on each day, in 36 holes thus far.

“Experience has a lot to do with it, probably nobody has played this course as much as me – it’s my 16^th tournament here. I played well, just hitting fairways and greens, but it’s important to hit the ball in the right spot here,” Langer said.

While Langer, Haas and defending seniors champion Mark Calcavecchia have all enjoyed sub-par rounds on both days, the NGC regular pros have generally struggled, with no one really conquering the Gary Player Country Club.

The result has been a bunched leaderboard with first round leaders Bill Haas, the son of Jay, and Nicolas Colsaerts slipping back down the field on Friday.

Haas admitted he was surprised that it was the seniors who were playing the better golf on the same course at the same time, their only allowance being that their tees have been moved forward.

“I’m surprised the big names are not doing better. We’re probably driving the ball where they’re driving it, then they probably take one club less from there. But the thing about Bernhard is that he does not make many mental errors, he doesn’t give strokes away.

“Having forward tees is definitely an advantage on a couple of holes and nobody in our tournament gets close to the distance of those 12 golfers in the main event. But the situation is a little unusual right now,” Haas said.

But Langer, typically, is not allowing himself to get carried away, even though the Champions Challenge enters its final round on Saturday.

“Four strokes sounds like a lot, but there is still a lot of golf to be played and this course can grab you anywhere, every hole can get you, so I still have to play a solid final round of golf. If I keep swinging and rolling the ball the way I did today, then I should be okay,” Langer said.

The two-time Masters champion has certainly given a masterclass at Sun City, one that the regular pros have not been able to match. While Langer has shot 68-67, the best rounds in the NGC have been Friday’s 69s shot by Lawrie and Martin Kaymer.

Paul Lawrie emerged as the midway leader of the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Friday after another day of tough scoring at the Gary Player Country Club.

Lawrie shot a three-under-par 69 in the second round to move to four-under overall, a one-stroke lead over Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who matched the Scotsman’s 69 – the best two rounds of the day.

South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen are two strokes further back, in a tie for third on one-under-par with Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American Bill Haas.

But on a day in which the golfers continued to be agitated by a swirling wind and thick semi-rough, it was the consistent if conservative play of Lawrie and Kaymer that brought the greatest reward.

Lawrie played beautifully in the tough conditions, his only dropped shot coming on the par-four 15^th, and the 43-year-old was understandably content with his position midway through the $5 million tournament.

“I played nicely again. I struggled with the driver so I hit quite a few three-woods, which was a strong club for me today. I gave myself chances and I putted a lot better today.

“This course is demanding off the tee and you’ve got to be in play if you hope to go for the pins. It’s important to drive well, it’s pretty tough out there. The wind is swirling, chopping and changing, and it’s difficult to get your distance right,” Lawrie said.

But with no one being able to conquer Sun City’s famed course, the leaderboard is bunched and Kaymer said the weekend shootout was an appetizing prospect.

“There are eight golfers within five shots, so that’s quite nice. If you play good and a few putts drop, then you can shoot five or six-under, so nobody can relax,” Kaymer said.

Schwartzel struggled to find his best game but kept himself in contention by shooting a 71 that left him on one-under-par.

Oosthuizen joined him half-an-hour later with a birdie on the 18^th hole, while Haas needed an inward nine of just 33 shots to also finish in the tie for third.

Haas was the joint overnight leader with fellow NGC rookie Nicolas Colsaerts, but they both discovered just why a debutant has not won at Sun City since Mark McNulty in 1986.

Colsaerts, who shot a 70 on the first day, made a disastrous start to Friday’s second round with a double-bogey seven on the second hole and a triple-bogey at the par-four third hole, while Haas double-bogeyed the first and dropped further shots at the seventh and ninth holes, before fighting back well.

The long-hitting Belgian finished with a 78 and a tie for 10^th on four-over-par, eight shots off the pace.