Goosen bounces back

Home favourite Retief Goosen took revenge for his embarrassing 11 yesterday by claiming the lead on day two of the SAA Open at Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth.

Goosen, three ahead of the chasing pack, was heading for a 63 in round one before his six-over-par score on the long 17th dropped him back to two off the pace after a 69.

Off early today, Goosen made use of the benign conditions to put his foot down, taking revenge on his bogey hole in the best way – smashing a two iron down the fairway before hitting a 275-yard three wood on to the green.

From there he holed a 20-foot eagle putt to claim a share of the lead in early play.

Afterwards Goosen was happy with his performance, but refused to speak about the horrors of day one.

He explained: “I had a good round today and my driver was working well but I used a lot more irons than normal.

“The conditions were excellent and the wind seems to be dying down at the moment, so scoring this afternoon should be easier than yesterday.”

Asked about the 17th in round one, Goosen added: “It’s history, there is nothing to say.”

With the wind picking up in the afternoon, scoring was a lot slower and failed to meet Goosen’s expectations.

The one exception, however, was Sweden’s Patrik Sjoland, who went through the front nine in four under to claim a share of the lead.

Surrey’s Andrew Raitt, joint overnight leader, continued his good work to keep pace with Goosen on nine under.

Raitt, who has battled back after losing part of his little finger after a dog bite and then struggled to return after massive legal bills from a resulting court case, was on song for the second successive day with a 68 to give him a share of the lead.

Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood had another good morning, shooting an error-free 68 to be one off the pace after briefly topping the leaderboard.

The Worksop golfer sank three birdies on the back nine to turn on seven under and then added another on the seventh to take him top on eight under with two holes to play before he was overtaken.

South African youngster Louis Oosthuizen, who once carded a 59 as a junior, shot 65 for the best round of the morning to join the group in second on eight under.

Scotland’s Alan Mclean shot a 68 to be one stroke further back and was joined by Sweden’s Pelle Edberg, who matched his score.

Tournament favourite Ernie Els was struggling in the wind – six under after 10 holes – while fellow South African big gun Trevor Immelman was one better on seven under.

Englishman Matthew Richardson shot a 66 after a disappointing first day 74 to move up to four under for the tournament.