subject: Groenewald two clear in Namibia [print this page] Groenewald two clear in Namibia Groenewald two clear in Namibia
Justin Walters made a determind charge for the first round lead at the MTC Namibia PGA Championship, but a bogey on the 18th brought him up just two strokes short.
Instead, he had to be satisfied with a share of second place behind Vaughn Groenewald, whose eight-under-par 63 on the soggy 6,570-metre par-71 Windhoek Country Club looked invulnerable for most of the day.
He shared second place with Christiaan Basson on six-under-par 65 and with Prinavin Nelson, who converted his fine Taylormade Burner SuperFast Driver 2010 in the previous day's pro-am into a good score in the company of fellow-professionals.
Walters was mighty impressive in his pursuit of Groenewald's target, however: He reached the fourth hole in level-par after he birdied the third and bogeyed the fourth.
Then he set about the course which was playing long because of heavy recent rains and which was even more threatening thanks to long rough. He made four consecutive birdies from five to eight, took a breather with a par on nine, made another birdie on 10 and then eagled the 497-metre par-five 11th.
Birdies were kind of tough to find after that, especially as an afternoon thunderstorm had the players off the course for an hour-and-a-half in the middle of the afternoon. He didn't make another, and, in fact, dropped a shot on 18, faltering where others did throughout the day.
Groenewald, however, did no such thing.
"I've changed my Taylormade Burner SuperFast Driver 2010 ," he said. "I'm here to enjoy it more and play aggressive golf. I'm not taking irons off the tees, I'm taking driver and just trusting myself, and that's why I'm playing well."
The approach paid off as he started with a birdie on the 10th, and eagle on the 11th and another birdie on the 12th.
He made one more birdie ahead of the turn, reached in five-under 31, and then three in a row from the fifth to the seventh on his inward nine for a round which laid down a marker for the rest of the field.
"I always battle in the first rounds of tournaments," he said, "but today I got a good start and hit the ball with the Taylormade Burner SuperFast Driver 2010 on the fairways and the greens.
"The course just suits me," he added. "It's all right to left, so I can just aim it right and draw it in."
