Jaco Van Zyl Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/jaco-van-zyl/ Golf Instruction, Equipment, Courses, Travel, News Sat, 28 Jan 2017 15:09:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/gd-favicon.ico Jaco Van Zyl Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/jaco-van-zyl/ 32 32 Wang emerges from leaderboard log jam to lead by three in Qatar https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wang-emerges-leaderboard-log-jam-lead-three-qatar/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wang-emerges-leaderboard-log-jam-lead-three-qatar/#respond Sat, 28 Jan 2017 15:09:41 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=3380 Sophomore slump? There’s no hint of one from Jeunghun Wang. The 21-year-old South Korean, last season’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-the-Year, is on the cusp of a third European Tour title after emerging from a nine-player log jam atop the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters leaderboard Saturday. A brilliant bogey-free 65 moved Wang to -15, three shots […]

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]]> Sophomore slump? There’s no hint of one from Jeunghun Wang.

The 21-year-old South Korean, last season’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie-of-the-Year, is on the cusp of a third European Tour title after emerging from a nine-player log jam atop the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters leaderboard Saturday.

A brilliant bogey-free 65 moved Wang to -15, three shots clear of South African Jaco Van Zyl and Spaniard Nacho Elvira heading into the final round of the Desert Swing event at Doha Golf Club.

Elvira is paired with another South African, Thomas Aiken (-11) in the penultimate group off the first at 11.56am Sunday but is set to resume his rivalry with Wang. The South Korean beat the Elvira in a play-off to win his maiden title at the Trophée Hassan II, with Elvira still looking for that first win.

Van Zyl is also looking for a first win on the European Tour and he joined Elvira in signing for a 68.

Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, Swede Joakim Lagergren and the English duo Nathan Kimsey and Andy Sullivan are -10 and with striking distance of Wang.

Wang followed up his win in Morocco with another victory at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just seven days later, a wind swept course not unlike Doha.

“I think the wind is similar but the course design is quite different. I love to play this course so I’m excited to play it tomorrow,” said Wang who was 11th in Abu Dhabi last week.

“I don’t want to think about winning, I just want to focus on my own game. I have a good chance to win.”

Wang hit his tee-shot to the 3rd to four feet and another smart approach to the 5th  got him into double figures. His eagle putt on the 9th left him a tap-in birdie and he chipped in on the 10th before holing a 20-footer on the 11th to take control.

A run of four pars followed but he produced an excellent chip after just failing to drive the par four 16th and then played a smart lay-up to take advantage of the last.

“My iron play was really good today and my putting was really good,” he said. “I shot seven under and I’m so happy that I didn’t make any bogeys today.”

Round three began with 44 players within four shots of the lead but by the end of the day that number was down to four.

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wang-emerges-leaderboard-log-jam-lead-three-qatar/feed/ 0 Gridlock in Qatar https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/gridlock-in-qatar/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/gridlock-in-qatar/#respond Fri, 27 Jan 2017 14:50:25 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=3366 A fast getaway on moving day will be no cinch after Friday finished with a record nine-player grid lock atop the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters leaderboard. Welshman Bradley Dredge, who carded an even par 72 following a sizzling opening 64, held onto his overnight lead but now has eight players for company at the summit on -8. There […]

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]]> A fast getaway on moving day will be no cinch after Friday finished with a record nine-player grid lock atop the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters leaderboard.

Welshman Bradley Dredge, who carded an even par 72 following a sizzling opening 64, held onto his overnight lead but now has eight players for company at the summit on -8.

There was a nine-way tie for the first-round lead at The Celtic Manor Wales Open in 1997 but never before in European Tour history have nine players shared the lead after 36-holes.

Another seven players are a shot adrift and with the cut made at -2, 70 players in total have made the weekend at Doha Golf Club. Each and every one of them is a genuine chance in the filling event of the European Tour’s tasty Desert Swing sandwich.

Koren Jeunghun Wang, a two-time winner last season and the European Tour’s Rookie-of-the-Year, and Spaniard Jorge Campillo made the biggest impression on the leaderboard Friday with second round 67s seeing them leapfrog 28 places into a share of the lead.

Also tied at the top are Englishman Andy Sullivan (68), Spaniard Nacho Elvira (69), Finn Mikko Orhonen (71), Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat (70, pictured above) and South Africans Jaco Van Zyl (69) and Thomas Aiken (68).

Among those to make the cut was Englishman Chris Paisley whose luck turned on the 17th hole when he sucked a 9 iron into the cup on the 135-yard par 3.

Paisley scored $150,000 from Qatar Duty Free for the ace and eased into the weekend at -3 after rounds of 74-67.

“I was in between a wedge and a nine-iron, and decided to go with a little nine-iron. I just hit it perfectly and when it landed, I said, ‘go in’, and it did, so I’m just delighted,” said Paisley, who also birdied 18 for a tournament-changing 67.

“It was a great feeling, but strange, as I went 27 holes this week without making a birdie and was three-over-par, struggling to make the cut. All of a sudden I made a couple of birdies and had a hole-in-one and I was inside the cut mark. I suppose it shows you…never give up!”

Paisley joins Jarrod Lyle and Van Zyl as the only players to make an ace in the 2017 Race to Dubai so far.  It was his fifth ace but first on the European Tour and the 10th in the 20 editions of the Qatar Masters. He is the first to do so on the 17th hole since Warren Bennett 12 years ago.

Tommy Fleetwood was among the big names to miss the cut with rounds of 73-73 a week after capturing the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Other notable names with the weekend off are Matteo Manaserro, Thongchai Jaidee (both -1) and Stephen Gallagher at +2 alongside Fleetwood.

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