Sterne plays down hat-trick chances ahead of Joburg Open

RICHARD STERNE is hoping to build on his superb ending to 2008 with another strong performance when the Joburg Open tees off today.

The South African, who is the defending champion at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, could equal a 22-year-old European Tour record at the co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour event by winning a third consecutive title — he claimed victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and SA Open at the back end of last year.

Those two victories mean he could now become the first player since Seve Ballesteros in 1986 to claim three European Tour wins in succession, but he insists that it is not something that has crossed his mind.