Immelman off to great start at South African Amateur

THE South African Amateur champion, Trevor Immelman, could hardly have wished for a better start in the first round of the 1998 Bell's championships at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club on Monday.

The 18-year-old Erinvale player shot a flawless four-under par 68 to lead the field by three after the opening round.

A group of five players shot one-under par 71s -- Jaco Olver, Roelf Craig, Duncan Wood, Vincent Schutte and Robbie Oosthuizen.

Birdies at three, five, six and 12 gave Immelman his four under, but with a bit of luck he could easily have shot a 65.

A couple of birdie putts which looked at the hole, but failed to drop, plus an eagle chip on 12 which nearly went in, could have made the day even more memorable.

On the other hand, though, his birdie on six came from a 35-footer and on 15 and 16 Immelman saved par with some accurate putting.

"I've been working hard on my game and I'm happy with the way I played ," he said.

"The course has been set up really fairly. This course can become a monster, but we're not teeing off from right at the back and the pin positions are not tucked away.

"You must pick your spots on this course, know when to attack and when to defend."

With play finishing later than expected, the stragglers came home in fast fading light, including defending strokeplay champion, East London's Ulrich van der Berg.

Although finishing on level par and four behind Immelman, Van der Berg was not a happy chap. "I didn't play particularly well," said Van den Berg, who now plays his golf out of the Wanderers course in Johannesburg.

"One thing that did annoy me though was there was no water available out on the course. It was a very hot day and there was nothing for us to drink.

"And considering I had to finish in the dark, I suppose I should be happy with par."

Best of the foreign contingent was Zimbabwean Shane Pringle, who shot a 72, while SA-born Irishman John McClure finished on one-over 73.

First round scores were:

68 Trevor Immelman

71 Jaco Olver, Roelf Craig, Duncan Wood, Vincent Schutte, Robbie Oosthuizen

72 Johan Etsebeth, Johan Kruger, Hanno de Weerd, Nigel Herd, Shane Pringle (Zim), Hilton le Roux, Dirk van der Merwe, Ulrich van der Berg

73 Tyrone van Aswegan, Damien Dunford, Henk Alberts, Christopher Joseph, Ian Smith, John McClure (Ire)

74 Terry Rowe, Chris Rodgers (Eng), Neville Clarke, Maxim Magnussen, Etienne Wehrli, Harold Struwig, Derek Scullard, Mark Anders, Mark Brown, Gary Thain, Werner Lassen (Nam), Dean Lambert

75 Clinton Harris, Macies Okon, Gerlou Roux, Richard Sterne, Eric Ndwandwe, Greg Jacobs, Ryan Reid, Stephen Wilson

76 Gary Pettit, Andre de Klerk, William Thompson, Jason Jackson (Zim), Niko Koster, Naithan Moore, Niel Murdoch, Fanie Viljoen, Sean Smith, Ivano Ficalbi, Trevor Fisher, Mark Peens

77 Ross Wellington, Riaan Gloy, Danny Collins, James du Plessis, Brandon Kotze, Cameron Johnston, Adam Kelland, Jaco van Zyl

78 Dale Burrasten, Philip Knibbs, Franco Prinsloo, Ben Kleynhans, Barnie Mostert, Bertus Smit, Etienne Bond, Brett Bystydzienski, Ted Hendriks, Bennie van Rensburg, Guy Cotter, John Blair, Mike Lamb (Zim)

79 Johan van Vuuren, Duncan Bradfield, Willem Nieman, John Nienaber, Jaco van der Merwe, Vernon Bassett, Craig McAlpine (US), David Brown, Piet Wessels, Omar Sandys, Russell McDonald, Gareth Botha, Nico Fenner

80 Jason Vaughan, William Booth, Steven Shearer, Labo Ramakhosi, Mark Hopf, Jean Hugo, Dean Nysschen

81 Lee Ashley, Corne Bernhardt, Robert Scherman, Greg Sheard, Tony Matkovich, Greg Prendergast, Michael McGill, Rian Chalmers

82 Marius de Lange, Ray Earle, Herman de Jager, Kevin Orlando, Thabang Simon

83 Pat Burgess, Martin van Tonder, Cedric-Fred Touzard, Dorian Pratt

84 Paul Atkinson, Clint Milton, Kevin van Wouw, Graeme Francis

86 Wouter Horn, Thomas Aitken, Jason Ashley, Thomas Raatgever

87 Sarel van Heerden.

Order of merit

The BGU order of merit has undergone quite a turn-around following three major tournaments -- the East London Open, North Eastern Districts Open and, last Sunday, the Alex Open.

By winning the Alex Open Juan Bartlett has moved to the top of the order with Marc Gregan, defending champion at Alex, but languishing down in 17th place last Sunday, dropping down to two.

They are followed in third place by Joe Bekker, who obviously owes his high position to good results in the three tournaments -- fifth in the East London Open, winner of the NED Open and third at Alex.

The top 20 on the order now (number of tournaments played in brackets) are:

1 Juan Bartlett (10) 971 points; 2 Marc Gregan (9) 962; 3 Joe Bekker (8) 912; 4 Charl Stotter (8)834; 5 Doug Gradwell (10) 616; 6 Jamie Kietzmann (7) 580; 7 Jaco Visagie (7) 562; 8 Lynton McGill (6) 546; 9 Paul Bedford (3) 464; 10 R Dukes (8) 456; 11 Denis Jones (3) 441; 12 Willie Nienaber (9) 433; 13 'Ant' Traub (8) 401; 14 Andrew Mackie (5) 399; 15 Martin van Seumeren (6) 393; 16 Christo Barnard (9) 382; 17 Ralf Wittrowski (4) 319; 18 Lourens von Solms (5) 305; 19 Johan Joubert (8) 304; 20 Daniel Gouws (7) 289.

ALEX OPEN: Bartlett, playing off four, won at Alex by a narrow one-shot margin, carding 74 76 for 150, but an equal dollop of glory must go to young Michael Niemann. Playing off 12, he carded the only par round of the day, marrying an afternoon 72 to his morning 79 to finish on 151, a total which enabled him to scoop the best nett on the day with a five-under par 139.

Bekker, also off four, posted 73 80 for 153 and Theo Mtyeku, belying his status as a Senior golfer, filled fourth spot on 154 after a pair of 77s.

Rounding off the top 10 were: 156 Samson Makubalo 77 79; 157 Alton Kaptein 77 80; 159 Andrew Mackie 76 83, Doug Gradwell 78 81, 'Ant' Traub 81 78 and Paul Strydom 78 81.

A del Fava (84 84 for 168) won the B division from T Rawuzela (87 84 for 171) and H Bartman won the C, played on nett, with 148 from G Kaptein, 151.

EAST LONDON OPEN: Gregan carded a sparkling five under par morning 68 and 75 in the afternoon for 143, three under, to win the East London Open two shots ahead of Jones (71 74 145).

Bedford was one of four golfers to card sub-par rounds and his morning 72 and afternoon 74 put him into third place on level par 146.

Bartlett carded the fourth sub-par round, a morning 71, but he ballooned out to an 82 in the afternoon to finish well down the field on 153.

Rounding out the top 10 behind Gregan, Jones and Bedford were:

4, 148 Kietzmann 74 74; 5, 149 Bekker 74 75; 6, 151 Gradwell 74 77; 7, 152 Stotter 77 75, Von Solms 78 74, McGill 74 78; 10, 153 Bartlett 71 82.

NED OPEN: Bekker won the NED Open with rounds of 73 70 for 143, two ahead of Visagie and B Jonas who carded identical rounds of 74 71.

Gregan (73 76) finished in fourth spot on 149 and the rest of the top 10 were:

5, 150 Maxwell Mfene 75 75; 6, 151 Stotter 75 76; 7, 153 P Nel 72 81, Gradwell 78 75; 9, 154 Bartlett 77 77, Gouws 74 80, Kietzmann 80 74.

Casey martin

With his fingers numb and a wind howling, Casey Martin discovered that his right to ride a golf cart had a downside on a day like that.

He never got warm in his roofless cart and struggled to a six-over par 78 on Sunday in the Greater Austin Open, his first competitive event since he won a lawsuit against the US PGA.

"It was brutal out there," Martin said after contending with 40 mph gusts and a wind chill of 21 degrees Fahrenheit. "My hands were freezing and the clubs felt like I was holding metal rods. It was one of the hardest days I've ever played."

Martin isn't allowed a windscreen or a roof under PGA tour rules and he could have used one on Sunday.

"The cart was a big disadvantage and I couldn't get loose," said Martin, who limps on his right leg because of a disability from birth. "I can't walk this course and I was considerably colder than the other guys because I never had a chance to warm up."

The 25-year-old had no birdies and six bogeys as he finished the tournament at even-par 288 well back in the field.

He was not alone in his troubles. By the time he finished his round, no golfer had broken par for the day.

Martin won the first Nike event of the season in Florida, then failed to make the cut in the next one. He hadn't played competitively since January 11.

Martin bogeyed three consecutive holes on the front nine, starting with his first three-putt of the tournament at the fourth. He went out in a four-over 40 and shot 38 coming home.

Martin never came close to a birdie. "I had no feeling in my fingers and I was even flinching on my putts, " he said. "My leg held up okay though."

This was his first tournament since a magistrate ordered the US PGA to grant Martin the right to ride a cart.

"It's a relief to get this out of the way," he said. "I hope this thing dies down soon. I guess you could say I played well considering the media attention I received."

Martin opened with back-to-back 69s and followed with a 72 before Sunday's arctic expedition.

Charity day

The Gonubie Rotary Club is to host their first charity golf day at Gonubie on Saturday, March 28 with the proceeds going to East London children's homes and the Zanokhanyo Community Arts and Crafts project.

The cost is R200 a tee, entitling the sponsor to display his banners on the course and entry for two players in the individual Stableford.

A green costs R350, entitling the sponsor to display his banners on the course and entry for four players. Prizes to the value of R3 000 will be up for grabs, along with the customary two clubs, nearest the pin and the like.

The entry list is filling fast so if you want to ensure you're in the draw phone the Gonubie Golf Club on 40-2068.

Fedics

There are corporate golf days -- and corporate golf days.

Fedics does them better than most, dispensing attractive golf shirt; scrumptious after golf and, later, cocktail snacks and an impressive, l-o-n-g prize list -- I and partner Barry Place finished 22nd and were still in the prizes.