JEPPESEN AND FISHER SET PACE

Steven Jeppesen shares the lead with Trevor Fisher Jnr after the pair carded opening-round eight-under-par 63s at the Joburg Open on Thursday.

The Swede, who had an afternoon tee-off at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, managed to match his rival's earlier effort in a round that included two eagles and five birdies on the west course.

Playing on the same 18 holes, South African Fisher Jnr. was the clubhouse leader for most of the day with an astonishing six birdies through his opening nine holes setting him on his way.

Michael Hoey from Northern Ireland is a shot back after his round of 64 in the co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event, with Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, Edoardo Molinari, Patrik Sjoland, Andrew McLardy, Rafael Cabrera Bello and David Drysdale all on six under par - the latter two being the only players amongst the leaders to shoot bogey-free rounds.

Jeppesen, 24, who has never won on the European Tour with his best position being tied second at the Madeira Island Open in 2004, admitted afterwards that he was just thrilled with his start.

"It was a good round today and I'm very pleased," he said.

"It started well with that eagle on the second and then I had a good couple of opportunities on three and four.

"Before I went out there I saw that there were a lot of guys shooting good scores today on the first six holes."

Fisher Jnr. has previously won the FNB Botswana Open, Eskom Power Cup and Seekers Travel Pro-Am - all lesser-known Sunshine Tour events. He showed impressive form on the opening day and attributed his performance to a flying front nine.

He said: "It's always nice to have a good start. You open up with a little six-under and yeah, I started birdie, birdie which was good.

"I had nice rhythm today and I putted really well. I gave myself some nice opportunities. I was quite patient which is a good thing for me as I don't feel rushed, and maybe I can maintain it now for three more days."

Ballymoney-born Hoey, who carded a 75 in the opening round last year, said: "I am pretty happy, I played here last year and the weather wasn't great.

"It didn't help as I wasn't playing well at all.

"But today it was pretty hot so the ball was going longer and that helped. I got off to a good start as well."

Defending champion Richard Sterne will have to dig deep over the next three days if he is to defend his title after ending a disappointing opening round with a level-par 71.

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

"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."

Another strong contender is two-time major winner Retief Goosen, who ended his opening day with a one-under 70, two shots worse off than 2007 champion Ariel Canete of Argentina, while Englishman Chris Wood finished with a two-under 69.

The first two rounds of the tournament are taking place on both the east and west courses after which the last two rounds will finish on the east.

Collated first round scores

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):

63 Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Trevor Fisher Jnr (Rsa)

64 Michael Hoey

65 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), David Drysdale, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Andrew McLardy (Rsa)

66 Peter Kaensche (Nor), Jan Are Larsen (Nor), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Michele Reale (Ita), Martin Maritz (Rsa)

67 David Carter, Hennie Otto (Rsa), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Brett Liddle (Rsa), Jean Hugo (Rsa), Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa), Danny Willett, Omar Sandys (Rsa), James Morrison, Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Carl Suneson (Spa), Oliver Bekker (Rsa), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Taco Remkes (Ned), Justin Walters (Rsa), James Ruth

68 Divan Van Den Heever (Rsa), Garth Mulroy (Rsa), Adilson Da Silva (Bra), Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den), Dion Fourie (Rsa), Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa), Charl Coetzee (Rsa), Brandon Pieters (Rsa), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Richie Ramsay, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Bobby Lincoln (Rsa), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Kasper linnet Jorgensen (Den), David Dixon, Callie Swart (Rsa), Keith Horne (Rsa), Ariel Canete (Arg), Christopher Doak

69 Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Steve Lewton, Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), John E Morgan, Ryan Thompson (Rsa), Federico Colombo (Ita), Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa), Deane Pappas (Rsa), Prinavin Nelson (Rsa), Chris Wood, Richard McEvoy, Andrew Curlewis (Rsa), Jake Roos (Rsa), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Gary Lockerbie, Phillip Archer, Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Andrew Wilson (Rsa), Wes Heffernan (Can), Nic Henning (Rsa), Doug McGuigan, Grant Veenstra (Rsa), Kevin Stone (Rsa), Joel Sjoholm (Swe), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Vaughn Groenewald (Rsa), David Hewan (Rsa), Desvonde Botes (Rsa), Henk Alberts (Rsa), Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Chris Williams (Rsa), James Kamte (Rsa)

70 Chris Gane, Branden Grace (Rsa), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Andre Bossert (Swi), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), Warren Abery (Rsa), Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa), Tyrone Mordt (Rsa), Peter Whiteford, Estanislao Goya (Arg), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Tc Charamba (Zim), Ryan Cairns (Zim), Michiel Bothma (Rsa), Dominique Nouailhac (Fra), Grant Muller (Rsa), Mark f Haastrup (Den), Christiaan Basson (Rsa), Retief Goosen (Rsa), Edrich Jansen (Rsa), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita), Ruan Botha (Rsa), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Lindani Ndwandwe (Rsa)

71 Merrick Bremner (Rsa), Michael Mcgeady, James Kingston (Rsa), Anders Hansen (Den), Liam Bond, Gerhard Trytsman (Rsa), Ockie Strydom (Rsa), Iain Pyman, Dale Marmion, Jacques Blaauw (Rsa), Alex Haindl (Rsa), Steve Basson (Rsa), Garry Houston, Alan McLean, Morne Buys (Rsa), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Dawie Van der Walt (Rsa), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Marcus Higley, Nico Van Rensburg (Rsa), Richard Sterne (Rsa)

72 Jonathan Caldwell, John Mellor, Leif Westerberg (Swe), Graham De laet (Can), Noel Fox, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice), David Frost (Rsa), Johan Etsebeth (Rsa), Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Wil Besseling (Ned), Thabang Simon (Rsa), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Cameron Johnston (Rsa), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Sam Little, Anthony Grenier (Fra), Anton Haig (Rsa), Keenan Davidse (Rsa), Andre Cruse (Rsa), Marc Cayeux (Zim), Sion Bebb, Gary Clark, Rolf Muntz (Ned), Sam Walker, Wallie Coetsee (Rsa)

73 Neil Cheetham, Steven O'Hara, Simon Griffiths, Gregory Molteni (Ita), Johan De buisson (Rsa), Andrew McArthur, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Roland Steiner (Aut), Mark Murless (Rsa), Darryn Lloyd (Rsa), Marc Farry (Fra), Richard Bland, Jaco Ahlers (Rsa), Stuart Manley, Bradley Davison (Rsa), Inder Van Weerelt (Ned), Ryan Tipping (Rsa)

74 Reggie Adams (Rsa), Andrew Butterfield, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), Eugene Marugi (Rsa), Josh Cunliffe (Rsa), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Heinrich Bruiners (Rsa), Johan Wahlqvist (Swe), Bradford Vaughan (Rsa), Louis De jager (Rsa), Callum Macaulay, Ross Wellington (Rsa), Louis Moolman (Rsa), Teboho Sefatsa(Rsa), Michael Curtis (Zim), Van Phillips

75 Alphuis Kelapile (Rsa), Jonathan Lomas, Derik Ferreira (Rsa), Riaan De bruyn(Rsa), Steve Van Vuuren (Rsa)

76 Titch Moore (Rsa), Ben Evans, Andre Ferreira (Rsa), Pg Van zyl (Rsa), Lars Brovold (Nor), Javier Colomo (Spa), Rafael Echenique (Arg)

77 Stuart Davis, Des Terblanche (Rsa), Neil Schietekat (Rsa)

78 Dean Lambert (Rsa), Simon Wakefield, Mohammed Tayob (Rsa)

79 David Griffiths

80 Ake Nilsson (Rsa), Emmanuel Masoliedze (Rsa)

82 Musolo Nethunzwi (Rsa)

84 John Bele (Rsa)


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OGILVY REMAINS ON TOP IN HAWAII

Geoff Ogilvy maintained his lead at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii after firing a five-under-par 68 in the second round.

The 31-year-old Australian followed a bogey-free first round of 67 with another superb round at Kapalua's Plantation Course to reach the halfway mark at 11 under, one shot ahead of DJ Trahan and two clear of Ernie Els.

Ogilvy began well with five birdies on the front nine including a run of three straight from the fourth to sixth and was six under for the day after making another on the 15th.

His flawless streak came to an end when he bogeyed the 17th but a par at the final hole ensured his place at the top of the leaderboard.

Trahan blistered the course with a seven-under 66 that featured seven birdies and an eagle offset by two bogeys as he moved from a tie for ninth after an opening-round 70 up to second spot.

Els hung in despite a rough front nine that featured a pair of bogeys. The South African was strong on the back nine, posting birdies on the 13th, 15th and 18th as he finished with a four-under 69 to improve to nine under.

Anthony Kim is in a six-way tie for fourth after firing a 68 to join Kenny Perry (71), Sean O'Hair (70), Ryuji Imada (70), Johnson Wagner (71) and Davis Love III (70) on seven under.

Defending champion Daniel Chopra completed his second round with a four-under 69 and is two over 148 overall while 2007 winner Vijay Singh, who will undergo knee surgery following the event, is even par after posting consecutive 73s.

Collated second round scores & totals

(USA unless stated, par 73):

135 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 67 68

136 D.J. Trahan 70 66

137 Ernie Els (Rsa) 68 69

139 Kenny Perry 68 71, Anthony Kim 71 68, Sean O'Hair 69 70, Davis Love III 69 70, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 69 70, Johnson Wagner 68 71

140 Adam Scott (Aus) 73 67, Boo Weekley 70 70

141 Justin Leonard 74 67, Stewart Cink 74 67, Camilo Villegas (Col) 74 67

142 Will MacKenzie 72 70, KJ Choi (Kor) 71 71, Brian Gay 72 70

144 Dustin Johnson 72 72, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 72 72, Steve Lowery 69 75, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 72

145 Greg Kraft 72 73, Chez Reavie 75 70

146 Zach Johnson 71 75, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 72 74, Vijay Singh (Fij) 73 73, Parker McLachlin 77 69

148 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 79 69

149 J.B. Holmes 74 75, Cameron Beckman 76 73

152 Andres Romero (Arg) 78 74, Marc Turnesa 79 73

153 Ryan Palmer 78 75


OGILVY CLAIMS LEAD IN HAWAII
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ASIA EDGE AHEAD

Asia's bid for a first victory in the Royal Trophy was on track after the hosts took a 3-1 advantage over Europe after the opening foursomes.

Europe were twice ahead in all four matches early on but blustery conditions hampered their progress on a topsy-turvy opening day at the pristine Amata Spring Country Club near Bangkok.

Asia bounced back to lead in three matches around the turn and consolidated their position on the inward nine as they took the ascendancy in their attempt to derail Europe's bid for a third successive title.

Scotland's Paul Lawrie and Denmark's Soren Hansen defeated Japanese duo Ryo Ishikawa and Toru Taniguchi 2&1 in the front group before Thai pair Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng wrapped up a comfortable 5&4 triumph over Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors to draw the tournament level.

China's Liang Wen-chong and South Korea's Charlie Wi won the last three holes to finish two up against Paul McGinley and Spain's Pablo Larrazabal - the Irishman's first loss in three appearances in the event.

Englishmen Oliver Wilson and Nick Dougherty then stumbled at the last as Hideto Tanihara and SK Ho secured a two-point advantage for Asia going into the fourballs.

Lawrie believes remaining patient was the key to the triumph in the leading match.

The Scot and partner Hansen were ahead for much of the outward nine but Ishikawa and Taniguchi hit birdies on holes nine and 10 and remained one up until the 14th.

A bogey by the Asian pair drew the contest level before successive birdies put Europe two up with two to play.

"We've both played Ryder Cup and you learn to expect the unexpected," said Lawrie, who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline and is making his debut in the Royal Trophy a decade on.

"They holed a few big, big putts just to stay one up, but you expect that in these types of team matches.

"You've just got to keep going and keep grinding away and hope for a break.

"Sixteen was a big hole for us. I decided to knock it down there and Soren hit a beautiful chip into the green - much the same as he had on 15 - and I managed to roll the putt in."

Buoyed by a partisan support, Thongchai and Prayad made five birdies in the opening eight holes to leave their Swedish opponents in their wake.

Fasth and Edfors could not recover and conceded holes 11 and 13 before a further European bogey ensured the Thai duo would level the tournament.

"We were slow starting as every match we were down but we came back," Thongchai said.

"After turning the front nine leading by two holes we were confident.

"We had a good partnership going and it was a good win."

McGinley and Larrazabal led from hole three to hole 11 before dropping back to all-square on 12.

They went one up on the next hole but Wi and Liang made a birdie three on hole 16 and Europe bogeyed the par-three 17th to fall behind at the last.

McGinley and Larrazabal then endured a disastrous closing hole as the tried in vain to win half a point.

The Irishman's tee shot found the water on the left before the Spaniard found a bunker with Europe's third shot.

McGinley played out on to the fairway and Larrazabal's second effort - Europe's fifth - found the cart path.

Wi and Liang progressed untroubled and the European pair eventually conceded defeat.

Tanihara and Ho overturned an early deficit to take a one-stroke lead at the turn over Wilson and Dougherty.

The lead was extended to two on the 13th, but Dougherty's tee shot set up a birdie two on the par-three 14th and Europe won the 15th with a par to square the contest.

The match remained level going down the 18th but Wilson and Dougherty lost the hole and the match as Asia took the honours on the opening day.

Collated day one scores (Team Europe names first):

Foursomes:

Soren Hansen & Paul Lawrie bt Ryo Ishikawa & Toru Taniguchi 2 and 1

Paul McGinley & Pablo Larrazabal lost to Charlie Wi & Wen-chong Liang 2 down

Oliver Wilson & Nick Dougherty lost to S K Ho & Hideto Tanihara 1 down

Niclas Fasth & Johan Edfors lost to Thongchai Jaidee & Prayad Marksaeng 5 and 4

Asia lead Europe 3-1


WILSON TARGETS MAIDEN TRIUMPH
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OGILVY CLAIMS LEAD IN HAWAII

Geoff Ogilvy fired a six-under-par 67 to grab the first-round lead at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii.

Ernie Els, Kenny Perry and Johnson Wagner are all one shot back after the trio carded rounds of 68.

The 31-year-old Ogilvy managed three birdies on both the front and back nine as he mastered Kapalua's Plantation Course.

Els held a one-shot lead midway through the first round after racing to four-under par through his first six holes. The South African eagled the par-five third hole before birdieing the sixth.

Els moved to six-under with birdies on the ninth and 11th before dropping a shot after bogeying the par-five 15th.

A three-time major winner, Els has won only one event since the beginning of the 2005 season.

Perry recorded an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys in his round which finished with a birdie on the par-five 18th.

Wagner enjoyed an eventful time in his 68 as the 28-year-old fired six birdies, three bogeys and sank an eagle on the 18th.

Davis Love III, Steve Lowery, Sean O'Hair and Ryuji Imada sit in a four-way tie for fourth at four-under.

With Tiger Woods still working his way back from knee surgery, the focus will be on some of last season's breakthrough players.

One to keep an eye on is Anthony Kim, who won last year's Wachovia Championship and AT&T National and earned $4,656,265.

Kim birdied his final two holes to finish two-under with a round of 71.

Vijay Singh, who will undergo knee surgery following the completion of the tournament, shot an even-par round of 73.

Defending champion Daniel Chopra of Sweden finished seven-over after a disappointing 79 that included three bogeys and four double bogeys along with four birdies.

Collated first-round scores (USA unless stated, par 73):

67 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)

68 Kenny Perry, Ernie Els (Rsa), Johnson Wagner

69 Sean O'Hair, Davis Love III, Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Steve Lowery

70 Boo Weekley, D.J. Trahan

71 Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, KJ Choi (Kor)

72 Dustin Johnson, Will MacKenzie, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Brian Gay, Greg Kraft, Carl Pettersson (Swe)

73 Adam Scott (Aus), Vijay Singh (Fij)

74 Justin Leonard, J.B. Holmes, Camilo Villegas (Col), Stewart Cink

75 Chez Reavie

76 Cameron Beckman

77 Parker McLachlin

78 Andres Romero (Arg), Ryan Palmer

79 Daniel Chopra (Swe), Marc Turnesa


OGILVY TRIUMPHS DOWN UNDER
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WILSON TARGETS MAIDEN TRIUMPH

Oliver Wilson is aiming to shed his 'nearly man' tag in 2009 and is targeting success in The Race to Dubai.

The 28-year-old from Mansfield finished runner-up five times in 2008 - four in the 2008 season and once in the 2009 campaign - to leave him still searching for a first professional victory.

However, refreshed from a month-long break, Wilson is looking to build on a promising 2008 which saw him make his Ryder Cup debut and finish 11th in the European Tour order of merit standings.

"It'd be nice to get a couple of wins this year," said Wilson ahead of The Royal Trophy in Bangkok.

"Obviously one would be nice - I think that'll happen this year.

"I want to win The Race to Dubai - it'd be nice to win that this first year.

"I'm off to a good start and I feel like my game is more consistent than it was last year."

Wilson currently lies second behind Sergio Garcia in The Race to Dubai table after finishing sixth and second in his two tournaments on the 2009 calendar.

Following his second place at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November, Wilson has now finished runner-up nine times in his career.

But he is confident a new physical regime will improve the consistency of his swing and he will reap the rewards with improved results.

"If I bring the base level of my golf swing up to where everything else is then I'm going to be in contention every week and that's obviously the goal," he added.

The first victory could even come in a major, according to Wilson, who admitted he performed poorly in the top events last term.

"I'm pretty confident," he said. "Who knows my first win might be a major - I know I can get myself up there."

The Masters in April would be the perfect place for Wilson - an Augusta State University graduate - to break his duck.

"That's the highlight, so far, for this coming year - I can't wait," said Wilson, who plans to call in a few favours to earn extra practice time at the Augusta National ahead of the first major of 2009.

"I've got a lot of good wishes from people in Augusta and I'm really looking forward to getting out there and getting a few practice rounds in beforehand.

"I've got a few lined up - I've had a few offers. I'll try to get out there as much as I can and I'll see how many members I can tap up."

For now, Wilson is focused on helping Europe defeat Asia to claim a third successive victory in The Royal Trophy.

He will be partnered by big-hitting Englishman Nick Dougherty in the opening day's foursomes and is looking forward to facing Japan's Hideto Tanihara and South Korea's SK Ho.

"I'm happy to be playing with Nick," he added.

"I'm going to be playing from positions I'm not used to. I played nine holes with him yesterday and he was hitting it miles.

"I'm looking forward to it, lots of short irons and stuff."


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LOFTY WOOD AIMING HIGH

Chris Wood has set his sights on finishing in the top 60 on the Order of Merit standings this season ahead of the Joburg Open this week.

The Englishman, who only turned pro after finishing fifth at The Open Championship last year, has made a storming start to his first full season on the Tour.

He finished tied 16th and sixth in his opening two events, both in South Africa - the Alfred Dunhill Championship and SA Open - and admits that with a little more work on his game he can improve even more.

"I've started out pretty well," he said ahead of the R2.25 million (Ј155,000) event.

"I've felt like I've just played my normal game really and there's so much more work I can do with my swing and my putting especially.

"I think I'm top of greens in regulation at the moment and if I can keep hitting the ball the way I am and get the putter going a bit, I'm going to start competing more. So that's what I'm looking to work on."

The main target for Wood this year, though, is qualifying for the season-ending Dubai World Championship, the climax of the inaugural Race to Dubai, which has been renamed from the European Tour. The top 60 players will be given the honour of playing for the US 10-million prize.

"The top 60 in the Order of Merit is by far achievable, definitely, and to get into that will be a pretty good first season," Wood added.

"I haven't really thought about world ranking. I mean, the better you play, it takes care of itself. So I'm really just trying to concentrate on the European Tour and get into the top 60 of the Order of Merit."

Asked if he knows the reason for his impressive early form, Wood replied: "Coming out into some nice weather like here definitely cheers you up a little.

"The courses have been really good and they have been really good tournaments.

"Also, it's early on in the year, so you're really fresh and keen to get going quickly."

Along with Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Anders Hansen of Denmark, the only two Europeans in the top 100, Wood is one of the more higher-profiled players from that continent teeing-off at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Thursday.

The other contenders from the 206-player field are all South African, including defending champion Richard Sterne, who has won back-to-back titles, and two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen.


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STERNE CHASING HAT-TRICK

Richard Sterne is hoping to build on his superb ending to 2008 with another strong performance when the Joburg Open tees off on Thursday.

The South African, who is the defending champion at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, could equal a 22-year-old European Tour record at the co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour event by winning a third consecutive title - he claimed victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and SA Open at the back end of last year.

Those two victories mean he could now become the first player since Seve Ballesteros in 1986 to claim three European Tour wins in succession, but he insists that it is not something that has crossed his mind.

"I haven't really thought much about it, although some people have talked to me about it," Sterne said. "I think the important thing for people to know is that it's not that easy to go out there and win a tournament.

"It's not the kind of thing you just decide to do one day. Come Sunday, I just hope I've got a chance, that's all."

Sterne's dream December propelled him into 43rd position in the world rankings, making him the highest ranked player and clear favourite in this week's 206-player field.

His biggest challenge is likely to come from fellow countrymen Retief Goosen, a two-time US Open winner, Charl Schwartzel and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke.

The Johannesburg golfer has attributed his recent success to "enjoying" his golf more, but is nonetheless aware that he will have to work hard to live up to expectations.

He continued: "Obviously I'm pretty happy with my game at the moment, although there is room for improvement. All the aspects of my game can do with tightening up - there's always something.

"I'm over the euphoria (of last year) now. It was nice to have done what I did, but it's a new year now and we all have to go out and do it all again."

As for the pressure heading into the competition, Sterne added: "There is probably a little extra pressure, but to be honest, I don't really feel it.

"There is no difference between this tournament and any other one I go out to play in."

Another player bidding to build on his flying finish to 2008 is Chris Wood.

The Englishman, who is playing his first full season since turning pro, finished tied for 16th and sixth in the same two events that Sterne won and is confident a slight improvement in his game could see him improve even further in 2009.

He said: "I've started out pretty well. I've felt like I've just played my normal game really and there's so much more work I can do with my swing and my putting especially.

"I think I'm top of greens in regulation at the moment and if I can keep hitting the ball the way I am and get the putter going a bit, I'm going to start competing more. So that's what I'm looking to work on."


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