GOLF NEDBANK CHALLENGE:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON carded a six-under-par round of 66 to lead the Nedbank Golf Challenge by one stroke after a rain-affected first day at Sun City in South Africa.
The Dubliner fired seven birdies and just one bogey as he produced an excellent back nine to move ahead of English duo Ross Fisher and Lee Westwood, on five and four under respectively.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez was also on four under, with last year’s winner, Robert Allenby, two shots back after a 70, the same score as England’s Justin Rose.
The South African contingent were slightly off the pace at the Gary Player Country Club with Ernie Els and British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen on one under, along with Edoardo Molinari.
Earlier, Fisher was looking good for the overnight lead, but just as lightning and rain arrived to force a two-hour delay, he mis-hit his tee shot at the par-four 17th and ended with a double-bogey six.
He was on seven under before that, but then slipped to five under with Harrington making the most of the opening.
“It’s just one of those things,” Fisher said. “I guess six was as good as I could have done. At 18 it would have left a sour taste if I ended with five and didn’t end with the par. I mean, finishing four under would have felt like 76 for the way I played.
“So I was relieved to have knocked that putt in and five under’s a good start.”
After the resumption, three-time major winner Harrington sank a 12-foot putt for birdie on the 15th to claim the lead.
He then had his only blemish of the round on the 17th, but a fine second shot out of the rough – over the trees to within two feet of the cup – allowed him to birdie the last for a one-shot lead.
World number one Westwood had made a poor start to the day and was one over through six, before a turn in fortune helped him make headway up the leaderboard.
“I struggled to hit the greens in the first five or six holes and you know what it’s like when you get stuck in the fringes,” he said. “You’re just not sure how it’s going to come out.
“I didn’t give myself any birdie chances and then three-putted six. So it was a slow start, but I picked it up after that.”
And he admitted he was always confident he would improve as the round progressed.
The 37-year-old added: “I’m playing well at the moment, I’m confident. There is no panic in me because I’m confident in my ability, so I just have to be patient and let things happen.”
South African Retief Goosen and Dane Anders Hansen were on level par after 72s, while the 12-man line-up was propped up by Tim Clark’s 73.
SECOND ROUND TEE-TIMES(Rsa unless stated, times Irish): 9.10am Tim Clark, Anders Hansen (Den); 9.22 Retief Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen; 9.34 Ernie Els, Edoardo Molinari (Ita); 9.46 Robert Allenby (Aus), Justin Rose (Eng); 9.58 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Lee Westwood (Eng); 10.10 Ross Fisher (Eng), Pádraig Harrington (Ire).
