Sherriff & Watson neck-in-neck in George

Western Province’s Michael Sherriff fired a flawless four-under-par 68 at Kingswood Golf Estate to set the early clubhouse target in the Sanlam Cape Province Open on Friday, but Tom Watson from the Southern Cape matched his score at George Golf Club to grab a share of the first round lead.

Sherriff birdied the third and added a brace of birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to dip three under par. After the turn, he stuck to pars until the 16th, where he collected his fourth birdie for the round.

Watson took a more colourful route to his 68.

The Fancourt golfer birdied the 12th but dropped the 14th, and sandwiched another bogey between birdies at the 15th and 17th to turn one under. A hat-trick of birdies from the fourth to the sixth took him to four under and he negated birdie at the eighth with a bogey at the par-four ninth.

The pair finished one stroke clear of Ian Snyman from Western Province and Ekurhuleni’s Kyle McClatchie, who both played the George layout.

Local favourite Jovan Rebula, Ekurhuleni’s Stefan Cronje, Jade Buitendag from the local KeNako Academy and Sean Bradley from Western Province lag two strokes off the pace, while recent Curro SA Juniors International champion Altin van der Merwe finished in the group at even-par.

FIRST ROUND SCORES (top 20)
68 Michael Sherriff; Tom Watson
69 Kyle McClatchie; Ian Snyman
71 Stefan Cronje; Jade Buitendag; Jovan Rebula; Sean Bradley
72 Luca Filippi; Keagan Thomas; Andi Dill; Altin van der Merwe
73 Darin de Smidt; Divan Marais; Hans-Jurie Human; Siegmund Human; Franklin
Manchest; Teaghan Gauche; Luke Trocado; James du Preez; Lwazi Gqira; Nicholas Mitchell; Marco Loubser; Angus Ellis-Cole

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.

Posted in