Clarke stays solid to keep in the hunt

South African Open : James Kingston moved to the top of the leaderboard at the South African Open yesterday to head the field by one stroke after a three-under 69.

The South African was one of just three players to end the day under par after high winds again took its toll on most of the field.

Kingston, 18th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, delivered a fine round that included an eagle on the par five third, which set him on his way as he moved to two under par for the tournament, one ahead of Andrew McLardy and Kyron Sullivan.

Zimbabwean-born McLardy shot a 71 to go with his opening round 72, while Wales' Sullivan mirrored McLardy's scores to remain in the hunt.

Darren Clarke added a 73 to lie on one over par, just three shots off the lead and in a share of sixth place.

The Dungannon man had two bogeys and a lone birdie on his card. Despite playing solidly from tee to green, he had anther frustrating day on the greens.

Peter Lawrie shot a 75 to be on five over par overall, and was left to rue a double bogey at the 16th.

Colm Moriarty and Rory McIlroy both recovered from disastrous opening rounds to sign for 74s yesterday, but were still outside the cut which fell at a remarkable nine over par.

"The wind was really strong," Kingston said. "You could see when you put the ball down, it was oscillating. And it's not just that. You always got the wind, especially when it's from behind, pushing you and you spend so much energy to stand still."

It was another tough day for the big names in the field, with only former world number one Greg Norman and defending champion Ernie Els shooting below-par rounds.

The Australian came home in two under to move to one over for the championship, while world number five Els shot the same score to move to three over for the championship.

Norman (52), was especially impressive, taking into account it was his first tournament since the Dubai Desert Classic in March this year.

Speaking about his round, Norman said: "The golf course yesterday played more difficult than it was today. They made a few adjustments to the tee positions today that from my perspective were a little bit awkward, because we had moved out 30-40 yards in different angles on different tee-shots.

"I hadn't played here before so I didn't have any idea on some of them. All in all the conditions make you have to really bear down; if you don't concentrate hard enough you going to shoot a high number out here - it's as simple as that."

Former winner of the event Retief Goosen matched his opening 74 to move to four over.

The best round of the day belonged to Dutchman Joost Luiten, who carded a five-under-par round of 67, seven shots off the lead.

The imposing southeasterly wind did manage to send several big names tumbling, with European Tour Order of Merit leader Ross Fisher, last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship winner John Bickerton and McIlroy all missing the cut.

However, reigning US Open champion Angel Cabrera narrowly survived as his nine-over par for the competition saw him make the cut.

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times