Golf: McGinley makes early running
Ireland’s Paul McGinley wasted little time in shaking off six-weeks worth of rust in the first round of the Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg today.
McGinley arrived in South Africa having played just three times since the start of December, claiming he had turned into a ‘‘full-time football supporter’’ of his two favourite clubs, West Ham and Celtic, over the winter.
To make matters worse, the 35-year-old’s clubs arrived 24 hours late on Wednesday morning, giving the Dubliner time for just one practice round at Houghton Golf Club.
All that did not seem to make any difference however, as McGinley found himself quickly in contention in his first tournament of the season.
Starting on the 10th, the Ryder Cup player birdied the 12th, 16th and 18th to reach the turn in 33, and another birdie on the fifth took him to four under par.
Playing partner Tim Clark, who won the South African Open in Durban on Sunday, had moved into the outright lead on six-under, but then ran up a double-bogey five on the eighth.
With McGinley making a birdie two, that meant a three-shot swing and took the Irishman into a share of the lead alongside Welshman Jamie Donaldson at the top of the leaderboard on five under.
McGinley was not done yet however, a 15ft putt on the last finding the hole on its last roll to give him a sixth birdie and opening-round 66.
Clark dropped another shot on the last to drop back to three under, while the third member of the group, Scot Andrew Coltart, followed McGinley in for a birdie to card a 68, the same as local favourite Ernie Els.
‘‘I’m surprised but pleased,’’ McGinley said. ‘‘I scored well but did not play particularly well and that’s what surprised me, the way I was able to get it round.
‘‘The rough is patchy and you can be lucky or unlucky. Tim (Clark) and I both hit it up the right on the ninth on the same line, he had a horrendous lie and I was perfect.
‘‘I got a few good breaks, I always seemed to have a shot out of the rough, and overall I’m very pleased.’’
McGinley had a one-shot lead over the field with Donaldson joined on five under by France’s Jean-Francois Remesy and South African duo Hendrik Buhrmann and Nic Henning.
Another South African, Roger Wessels, was also five under after 12 holes, as was Welshman Stephen Dodd.
Roy Wegerle meanwhile, the former QPR and Chelsea striker who qualified to play in the tournament on Tuesday, began in fine style with a birdie on the first.
The 37-year-old, who made 230 league appearances in England for five clubs after signing for Chelsea in 1986, looked understandably nervous as he teed off, but promptly hit his second shot to the opening hole to within a foot of the hole for an opening birdie.
He was unable to maintain that start however, and bogeys at the fourth, ninth, 10th and 14th dropped him back to three over par.
