Sterne looks for trifecta in Joburg
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2009 Joburg Open | Preview | 07 Jan 2009
The Joburg Open gets underway at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club near Johannesburg on Thursday with most of the interest in whether Richard Sterne can not only defend the title he won twelve months ago but add to his two successive European Tour victories late in 2008.
The two layouts at this golfing complex, the East and West Courses, will be used over the opening two days providing the opportunity for an expanded field of 204 players prior to the cut where the top 65 will move through to the weekend. The East Course is the more well known of the two, having hosted significant events in South African golf on a number of occasions.
Sterne is looking for a hat-trick of European Tour victories following those he recorded at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the South African Open in mid-December. The significance of his achievement, if he was able to do so, is highlighted by the fact that he would become the first person golfer since Seve Ballesteros in 1986 to do so.
Ballesteros last achieved the feat when he won the Carrols Irish Open, the Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open and the French Open. In fact the Spaniard won four in a row that year as he had claimed the British Masters two weeks earlier but did not play the Jersey Open in the week between.
Sterne moved inside the top 50 in the world as a result of his great finish to 2008 and claimed a place in the field for Augusta as a result. Last year he won this event after a playoff against Sweden’s Magnus Carlsson and fellow countryman Garth Mulroy.
While most of the focus this week will be on the game’s current hottest player Sterne, Retief Goosen is in the field although surprisingly he has slipped to 45th in the world rankings and actually trails Sterne.
Goosen played well in Asia towards the end of last season winning the Iskander Johor Open before finishing a very solid 6th at the South African Open. On that form alone the two time US Open Champion must be a chance this week.
Charl Schwartzel often plays well at home and has been in good form in recent events including his win at the Madrid Masters towards the end of the 2008 season. It would be a surprise not to see him in the mix this week.
Mulroy played well on occasions on the Nationwide Tour last season and as the runner up last year he stands some sort of chance.
There will be a lot of interest in the performance of relative newcomer Chris Wood who gained his European Tour card late last year at the Q School following an excellent amateur career and who finished 6th at the recent South African Open.
The event kicks starts the 2009 year with events in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai to follow in the weeks ahead before the European Tour heads to Malaysia then Perth.
There are no Australasians in this week’s field.
