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Sluggish start for Sterne

Fisher Jnr and Jeppesen set early pace on eight-under-par

Last updated: 8th January 2009

Sterne: eight shots off pace

First round leaderboard:
(GB & Ire unless stated)
T Fisher Jnr (SA) -8
S Jeppesen (Swe) -8
M Hoey -7
R Cabrera Bello (Spa) -6
A Garcia-Heredia (Spa) -6
E Molinari (Ita) -6
P Sjoland (Swe) -6
A McLardy (SA) -6

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Richard Sterne's bid for third consecutive European Tour win got off to a sluggish start as the defending champion posted a level-par opening round at the Joburg Open, eight strokes behind early leaders Trevor Fisher Jnr and Steven Jeppesen.

Following his victories at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and South African Open, Sterne is bidding to complete a hat-trick of victories that would see him join Severiano Ballesteros and Nick Faldo as the only men to do so.

However, the 27-year-old endured a largely frustrating day at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club where Fisher Jnr and Jeppesen stole the headlines with superb opening 63s.

The duo, who played over the easier West Course, stand one shot clear of Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey on seven-under who produced an excellent 64 over the more testing East Course.

Behind Hoey a group of five players have gathered on six-under-par; Spaniards Rafael Cabrera Bello and Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Italian Edoardo Molinari, Patrik Sjoland of Sweden and home player Andrew McLardy.

Big-name South Africans Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel made solid if unspectacular starts with rounds of 68 (three-under) and 70 (one-under) respectively.

However, the day belonged to the lesser lights with Fisher Jnr and Jeppesen setting a scorching early pace with some superb approach play.

Fisher Jnr produced a quite incredible front nine blitz as he reached the turn in just 30 strokes following six birdies.

The journeyman - playing in his 100th Sunshine Tour-sanctioned event - picked up strokes at the first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth to race to six-under-par.

His only blemish came with a bogey at the par-four tenth, but he added further birdies at 11, 14 and 15 to complete a memorable day's work.

Wedge working well

"I'm very happy," stated the South African. "The wedge worked well for me today.

"On the West Course, if your wedges are good, you can put it really near to the hole."

Starting later in the day Jeppesen enjoyed an equally dazzling front nine as he produced eagles at the second and seventh, birdies at the fifth and sixth and a solitary bogey at the ninth to turn in 31.

He too followed it with three birdies on the way home to grab a share of the lead going into day two.

Hoey's round featured eight birdies and just a single dropped shot which came at the 17th, but he responded well by birdying the last to leave himself hot on the heels of the leaders.

Sterne, playing the East Course, looked ready to make a charge as he birdied the eighth and ninth, but he lost momentum with bogeys at ten, 14 and 15, before repairing some of the damage with a closing birdie at the par-five 18th, but the Pretoria-native knows he will need a big round on Friday over the West Course to put himself back in contention.

"I actually got off to a decent start, but felt a little tired and made really weak birdies on the back nine," he said.

"Tomorrow I can hopefully do something good and get back into it. It's a strange game and you never know what you are going to get really."