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Richard Sterne sets early pace with 67 at Nexo Championship

Richard Sterne sets early pace with 67 at Nexo Championship

The National3 days ago
Funnily enough, some readers often say that these writings make them want to cut theirs too. Sterne, meanwhile, is made of, well, stern stuff.
A defiant, bogey-free five-under 67 over a blowy Trump International Golf Links gave the 43-year-old South African a timely tonic has he continues to recover from a series of ravaging injuries and surgeries.
At the end of an unforgiving day, Sterne was perched at the head of the standings, a shot clear of his compatriots, Thomas Aiken and Louis Albertse, and Norway's Andreas Halvorsen.
Wear, tear, aches, pains, hirples and hobbles can be par for the course when you've spent your life thwacking balls with a stick.
'How long have you got?,' replied Sterne when asked to detail the various afflictions that have dogged him down the seasons.
'I've had three wrist surgeries since 2020 and I have a titanium disc in my lower back,' added the six-time DP World Tour winner, who reached a career-high of 29th in the world rankings but now languishes down in 1049th.
'The wrist procedure was a scaphoid ligament which tore and they fixed it and then it tore again. I also tore the TFCC (triangular fibrocartilage complex) in my wrist. It can be a hell of a thing to operate on.
'When I was getting the third wrist surgery, I decided to get my back done as well because I'd had 20 years of it (pain). I could always play but it got so bad, I couldn't even swing a club.
'I was out for nine months with the wrist surgery so I thought I may as well do my back too. I would have pain down my leg, I was living on painkillers. It was not fun.
'The only way I could see myself playing again was to take the chance with surgery. My back was actually easier to recover from. The wrist was more of a worry. I've spent hundreds of hours recovering and being in the gym trying to get my body able to play again.
'I didn't hit a ball for 22 months. You can imagine trying to come back from that. It's been a tough year.'
Sterne has played 14 events on the tour his season but has made just three cuts.
It's been a sair auld fecht but, having harnessed the testing conditions with a neatly assembled opening round amid the towering dunes of the Menie estate, Sterne is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
'I enjoyed today, and it would be nice to play like this for the rest of the year to build some confidence,' said Sterne, who birdied three of the four par-5s and was home and dry before the wind really got howling.
'The wind was not excessive, but it was testing. You can see that in the scores. I hit some shots that I've been working on, and they came off so that gives me confidence too.'
Sterne's considered, bogey-free card was in stark contrast to a wild practice round earlier in the week that was played out in the kind of wind that would've knackered the Beaufort Scale.
'I lost eight balls, it was chaos,' he said with a chuckle. 'Some guys played nine holes and then stopped. But I thought, 'bugger it, I'll go and play'. I nearly ran out of balls.'
Many of us can empathise with such a predicament. Halvorsen's 68 included an eagle-two on the seventh after his drive rolled up to within six-feet of the hole.
Aiken also had an eagle in his four-under round as he trundled in a 20-footer for a three on the long 10th.
Englishman Jordan Smith, meanwhile, has been one of the players on European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald's radar ahead of the showdown with the USA in New York.
The consistent Smith got himself up-and-running with a three-under 69 but with qualifying events running out – the final counting tournament is the British Masters in a couple of weeks - the 32-year-old knows it's a tall order to make the grade.
'I think it would have to be two wins or a win and a really good performance somewhere else,' said Smith of a last ditch push. 'I mean, it's not off the cards, but I think it will be really, really tricky for me to get on the team."
America's John Catlin made an assault on the summit as he raced to the turn in five-under, but he got into bother on his back-nine and trudged home in 40 on his way to a one-under 71.
It was that kind of day.
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Grant Forrest leads by three shots in bid to land second DP World Tour triumph on Scottish soil
Grant Forrest leads by three shots in bid to land second DP World Tour triumph on Scottish soil

Scotsman

time14 hours ago

  • Scotsman

Grant Forrest leads by three shots in bid to land second DP World Tour triumph on Scottish soil

Birdie-birdie finish gives Scot a cushion heading into closing circuit in Nexo Championship Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It's a dream for most top golfers and Grant Forrest has teed up a chance to achieve it twice. The East Lothian-based player landed his breakthrough DP World Tour win on Scottish soil in the 2020 Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews. He's now of course for another tartan triumph, taking a three-shot lead into the final round of the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire. 'There's a long way to go, but I'm happy with the way I dug in today and it was a great way to finish,' said Forrest, who picked up three shots in the last five holes for a 71 to sit on eight-under-par in the $2.75 million tournament on Donald Trump's spectacular Old Course at Menie Estate. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Grant Forrest celebrates after holing a putt for birdie at the 17th hole on day three of the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links |Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan (68), Englishman Todd Clements (69) and Dutchman Daan Huizing (70) are leading the chase after Jordan Smith, the highest-ranked player in the field, suffered a surprising late collapse, finishing with back-to-back double bogeys for a 78, having moved ahead of overnight leader Forrest with eight holes to play. On another challenging day as the wind gusted in excess of 25mph, Forrest, who'd moved into pole position in the battle for a top prize worth $467,500 on the back of a course-record 66 on Friday, dropped shots at the eighth and tenth, admitting that he'd been 'lucky to escape with a 6' at the latter. He 'settled down' thereafter, though, picking up his first birdie of the day from close range at the par-4 13th then knocking in a 16-footer at the 17th followed by a 20-footer at the last in an impressive birdie-birdie finish on the Martin Hawtree-designed layout. 'I'm pretty happy with my gameplan so far and if it's similar conditions tomorrow it will just be about getting the ball in play off the tee and hitting greens and remaining patient,' said the 32-year-old. 'I've only led once before, and I ended up winning. But there's a long way to go, especially on this golf course, and I'm just going to take it one shot at a time.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Just over a month ago, Forrest was in despair about his game. 'My golf is just not there just now,' he admitted after a poor weekend in the BMW International Open in Munich. 'If it's not one thing that's letting me down, it is something else. That's why I have struggled to actually shoot a low round this year. I don't think I've shot better than four under. I've had plenty of chances, but it's either my putting or my short game or approach play or tee shots. There's constantly something that is way off the mark.' It was a timely confidence boost when he then finished joint-22nd, picking up the Jock MacVicar AGW Trophy as the leading home player, in the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club and he's now arrived here this week in a good place on and off the course. Grant Forrest is bidding to land a second DP World Tour triumph on Scottish soil after his maiden win came in the 2020 Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews |Wife Christy and eight-month-old son Spencer are up in Aberdeen with him and his mum, Audrey, is likely to be heading up as well for the closing circuit. 'It's nice to have my family here and I think there will be some more coming tomorrow,' said the leader. 'I'm really looking forward to it and it's great to have Spencer here. I've loved spending time with my family at home since the Scottish Open.' Reitan, who has Edinburgh man Tim Poyser on his bag, won the Soudal Open in Belgium earlier this year and is looking to cement his position as one of the ten players currently sitting in a PGA Tour card-winning spot on the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I played the Scottish (Open) and The Open, but this is a different type of wind,' said Reitan, who graduated from the HotelPlanner Tour last season. 'It's just so much stronger and takes some getting used to, but I feel like I managed it nicely today. 'If you hit a fade, you have to aim right edge of the fairway aiming it at a bush on a few of these holes, which is very uncomfortable. You have to trust that it will come back and it's not very comfortable, but just getting used to it and being able to trust the strong winds. That's what you've got to do. I feel like I've managed that better and better each day, so hopefully that keeps going into tomorrow.' Huizing is a links specialist, having won both the St Andrews Links Trophy and Lytham Trophy in 2012 as an amateur. 'Anything under par in these conditions is very good,' he declared. 'If you make a mistake, it's important to accept it and move on and that has worked very well for me. I must keep reminding myself that I'm playing well and I can bounce back with birdies.' He birdied the 17th for the third day running, setting up his 3 on this occasion with a brilliant approach from the native area. 'I hit an incredible shot,' he admitted. 'When I stood over my approach, I pictured the shot in my head and it came out exactly how I wanted. To make the putt and walk away with birdie after my tee shot was a great feeling.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Clements, who landed his maiden win in the D+D REAL Czech Masters two years ago, hit his tee shot at the 382-yard par-4 fifth to around a foot for an eagle while his card also contained four birdies. Clements claimed: 'It was one of those days when golf showed its true teeth,' said the 28-year-old. 'I holed some good putts and got lucky at times out there, but I'm delighted with my work. You must really stick in there as it tests you mentally. But I enjoy the challenge of links golf, and I feel like it really suits my game.'

Scotland's Grant Forrest leads Nexo Championship by three
Scotland's Grant Forrest leads Nexo Championship by three

The National

time14 hours ago

  • The National

Scotland's Grant Forrest leads Nexo Championship by three

In this game, of course, it's a marathon not a sprint. 'There's still a long way to go,' said a cock-a-hoop yet cautious Forrest after the Scot opened up a three-stroke lead in his quest for the second DP World Tour title of his career. On a windswept, topsy-turvy day, which was as lively as Trump's own hair in the turbulence of his own helicopter's rotors, Forrest rallied on the run-in with a decisive thrust that could've featured a rapier. Three birdies on his last five holes, including two crackers on 17 and 18, gave the halfway leader a battling one-under 71 for an eight-under aggregate and a decent advantage over Todd Clements, Kristoffer Reitan and Daan Huizing. On this treacherous course, with menace and mischief lurking at every turn, anything can happen so it's understandable that Forrest was remaining wary. Look, for instance, what happened to one of his playing partners in the final group, Jordan Smith. At one point of the third round, the Englishman had inched into the lead but his assault unravelled on the closing eight holes. Smith leaked a shot on 11, dropped another on 15 then staggered home with double-bogeys at both the 17th and 18th in a ruinous 78 that saw him plummet down to a level-par total. While Smith imploded, Forrest was inspired. Well, eventually. The 32-year-old had to dig deep on a testing day as he slipped off the summit with bogeys at the eighth and 10th. 'I was lucky to escape with a six on 10 and then I settled down a little bit,' said Forrest of that important exercise in damage limitation. Forrest didn't just settle down, he saddled up and made a charge. A five-footer for birdie on the 14th was the prelude to his grandstand finish. He knocked in a 16-footer for another gain on the 17th before trundling home a delightfully judged 20-footer on the last to close with aplomb. The pump of the fist underlined the significance of the moment. The little encirclement of young autograph hunters around the green, meanwhile, gave him something else to sign before his card. It was a good day's work. There's plenty of work still to do but Forrest, who has endured a fairly frustrating season, is on course for a first title since he claimed the Hero Open in St Andrews back in 2021. More of the same will do nicely. 'I'm pretty happy with my gameplan so far and if it's similar conditions on the final day, then it will just be about getting the ball in play off the tee and hitting greens and remaining patient,' said the former Scottish Amateur champion of a strategy that has kept him, by and large, on the straight and narrow over the last three days. 'I've only led once before, and I ended up winning. But I'm just going to take it one shot at a time.' As gusts of 25mph – just a zephyr in these parts – whipped over the links, Forrest's other playing partner, Richard Sterne, was, like Smith, blown off course too. The day one leader suffered a desperate run around the turn as he spilled seven shots on his way to a 76 for a level-par aggregate. While Smith and Sterne toiled, there were plenty of others who prospered and kept themselves lurking in the chasing pack. Huizing, the 34-year-old Dutchman who had a terrific track record in links golf during his days as one of the world's best amateurs, posted a sturdy 70 to keep himself in it at five-under. A double-bogey on the seventh saw him lose ground on the frontrunners but a haul of four birdies on his remaining holes repaired the damage. His birdie on the 17th was quite something. Well left off the tee, and in tangly rough with the ball above his feet, Huizing swiped one out to within 10-feet and holed the putt. 'I hit an incredible shot on 17 and when I was standing over my approach I pictured the shot in my head and it came out exactly how I wanted,' he said of that recovery. 'To make the putt and walk away with birdie after my tee shot was a great feeling. 'Anything under par in these conditions is very good. If you make a mistake, it's important to accept it and move on and that has worked very well for me. I must keep reminding myself that I'm playing well and I can bounce back with birdies.' Clements, a former English Amateur champion who earned his first DP World Tour win at the Czech Masters two years ago, illuminated his 69 with an eagle-two on the driveable fifth after launching his tee-shot to tap-in distance. 'It was one of those days when golf showed its true teeth,' he said of the growling links. 'I holed some good putts and got lucky at times out there, but I'm delighted with my work. 'You must really stick in there as it tests you mentally. But I enjoy the challenge of links golf, and I feel like it really suits my game.' Reitan, the third member of the chasing pack, packed six birdies into his 68 as the Norwegian kept himself in contention for a second DP World Tour win. 'My golf has not necessarily been perfect, but I've just navigated my way around and today I hit some better approach shots, which helps a lot,' said the 27-year-old. 'I played the Scottish Open and The Open but this is a different type of wind. It's just so much stronger and takes some getting used to.' Reitan continues to get used to it, though. As for the frontrunning Forrest? Well, it's suiting him to a tee. So far, so good.

Tonight's rugby news as Rees-Zammit 'could have made' Jaguars team and England launch World Rugby appeal
Tonight's rugby news as Rees-Zammit 'could have made' Jaguars team and England launch World Rugby appeal

Wales Online

time17 hours ago

  • Wales Online

Tonight's rugby news as Rees-Zammit 'could have made' Jaguars team and England launch World Rugby appeal

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