STRONG WINDS TORMENT THE FIRST DAY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN

13 December 2007 – All did not go as planned at the opening day of the South African Open held yesterday in Paarl, Cape Town.

The weather was truly against allowing for a good game of golf, with strong winds causing total chaos and destruction, resulting in only four players out of the entire 156-man tournament able to break par.

The top golfers of the South African Open’s first day include the names of Ulrich van den Berg, Alex Haindl, and Charl Schwentzel, with leader of the championship, England’s Robert Rock closing with a 2 under par 70. Darren Clarke putted his way to just make the group on level par.

Not only was yesterday an unlucky day in terms of bad weather, but Trevor Immelman was forced to retire after just two holes due to a damaged rib.

"I was hoping to play through the pain and continue the tournament, but the pain intensified to the degree that I was struggling to breathe and also to swing," Immelman commented in a statement to the press.

We are hoping that today, the weather gods will smile down on the South African Open, giving to our golfers the ideal conditions to play a perfect game of golf.