Singh upset by Sun City mud
Vijay Singh scorched up the Gary Player course at Sun City to set the pace with a blistering 65 in the Nedbank Challenge, but was more concerned about mud.
While few golfers around the world would have complained with Singh's round, the Fijian believes he could have gone better if there was less mud on the balls.
Singh will be hoping the harsh African sun comes out to bake the course, where he can worry less about conditions underfoot and more about his own game.
"I could have birdied a few more holes but there was mud caked on the balls and it made it difficult to play," Singh said. "Everybody was complaining on the mud on the balls, so hopefully they will do something about it.
"You can, I suppose, compensate for it, but it depends on the way the mud flies off the ball when you hit it. Over here it is like clay and it stays on, it makes it very difficult to judge your shots."
Singh has even asked officials for the option to pick up and clean the ball during play, but has had no answer.
Still with seven birdies and a share of the lead, the mud certainly did not seem to bother Singh.
One player who was bothered was Ernie Els, the defending champion, who will need to do a lot more than his even-par 72 to keep his title.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke benefited from a late lesson from course designer Player, whose tips on playing short on this course ensured he was only one off the pace at six under 66.
Clarke struggled in the pro-am with his short game, and after coming in, asked Player for advice to help him through the round.
"I got a fantastic lesson out there in the bunker from Gary Player on how to play the course," Clarke said. "For 15 minutes, he gave me a lesson on how to chip out of the kikuyu."
Clark started his round off with a birdie on the fourth with a six iron which landed within 15 feet, which the Irishman sunk for par.
The six iron proved just as lucky on the sixth with an approach shot which landed also 15 feet shy, but was sunk on the first putt anyway.
But it was his shot on 10 that got the crowds talking and turned around Clarke's round for good. Having found the kikuyu on the fringe of the green some 25 feet from the hole, he fluffed a tricky shot which found some air and landed in the same place.
The very next shot, he clipped it onto the green to run into the hole for a magnificent birdie.
