PRETORIA – European Tour rookie Alexander Bjork of Sweden and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson both posted three-under-par 68s on Saturday for 13-under 54-hole aggregates of 200 and a share the Tshwane Open lead going into Sunday’s final round at Pretoria Country Club.
And sitting just one off the pace are South Africa’s Dean Burmester and Spaniard Jorge Campillo. They both signed for superb 65s thanks to fast finishes on a warm, mainly windless day.
Burmester birdied both 17 and 18 while Campillo was even more impressive, with a two at the par-3 16th, a three at the par-4 17th and a three at the par-5 18th.
So that added up to a birdie-birdie-eagle blitz at the end of his round as he picked up four shots in just three holes.
Bjork and Jamieson were playing partners as co-leaders at the start of the day and they will be together again on Sunday.
The Swede was remarkably calm considering he has never been in this position before, leading a European Tour event. ”I didn’t feel the pressure mainly, I think, because I just tried to enjoy myself out there. This is a wonderful golf course, short and narrow, with really thick rough.
“You have to keep the ball in play, and that often means hitting irons or rescue clubs off the tee to make sure you find the good spots on the fairway, and that suits my game,” said Bjork, 26, who has father Mikael caddying for him, and his mother Marianne watching him from outside the ropes.
He also has a sister who caddies for him in tournaments, so this is very much a family affair.
Jamieson, at 33, is far more experienced on tour and has won in South Africa before – in the 2012 Nelson Mandela Championship, which was also part of the European Tour, at Durban Country Club.
“I’m in a great position to go out and try and win the tournament,” he said. “Yet again, I was really good tee to green, but I felt as if I left quite a few putts out there on the greens.
“It’s been a little difficult to get the ball to the hole while putting. I’m not sure if the practice green is a little quicker than the greens out on the course.
“I’ve heard a few guys say they’re struggling to get the ball up to the hole, and it’s certainly been the case for me.
“The way I like to putt is just to not think about pace. There’s enough to think about without worrying about how hard you hit it.”
Trevor Immelman hit a hole-in-one on the fifth at the Tshwane Open on Saturday. Photo: Erik S. Lesser, EPA
So will it be Alexander the Great, or Great Scott, once the final putt is holed on Sunday.
Neither if Burmester and Campillo have anything to do with it, and the same can be said for Finn Mikko Korhonen, who is just two off the pace at 11-under.
There are also five players – SA pair Thomas Aiken and Peter Karmis, Australia’s Ben Eccles, and England duo Oliver Fisher and James Morrison – on 10-under, and they certainly aren’t out of the running.
Fisher raced up the leaderboard with a nine-under-par 62 early in the day. This matches Aiken’s 62 in round two. “It helped to finish with three straight birdies,” said Fisher after his lowest round in his career on the European Tour.
Trevor Immelman hasn’t been able to recapture the form that won him the 2008 Masters and has been missing cuts on tour.
But the US-based South African did make it through to the weekend here in Tshwane and shot 69 on Saturday to be on three-under overall.
He also aced the par-3 fifth hole – playing 174 metres on Saturday. He didn’t win a car for the hole-in-one, but he did buy a round of drinks for all the caddies.
That’s quite a round, Trevor!