Elson, McGrane lead at Joburg Open

[fiona18]

Ireland\'s Damien McGrane and England\'s Jamie Elson both opened with rounds of eight-under-par 63 for a one-stroke clubhouse lead in the weather-plagued first round of the Joburg Open on Thursday, and yet they were almost overshadowed by second-placed Desvonde Botes\'s 65.( New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Drivers)
McGrane and Elson played the more forgiving par-71 West Course of the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, while Botes posted his brilliant score on the tougher par-72 East Course to be one off the pace. He was later joined on seven under by Reinier Saxton and Peter Karmis, who both carded rounds of 64 on the West.
Most of the better scores came on the West on day one.
\"I do think the course I played with New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Driverswas at least three shots easier than the East,\" said McGrane, who last won in the 2008 Volvo China Open.
To his credit though, he did what he needed to and took full advantage with a round that included a chip-in for eagle on the par-five 15th.
\"I\'m delighted to be in this position. My last win was in 2008 so I definitely want to win again soon and get the momentum going. This is a good score at the start of the year so there is a lot of positive stuff in there at the moment.\"
Elson started well with four straight birdies and added another two to go out in 30. He stumbled with bogeys at 10 and 11, but responded with four birdies in his final six holes.
\"I got off to a flyer. I birdied the first, second, third and then chipped in at the fourth,\" said Elson.
\"I hit New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Driversoff 10, which was an error. We walked the course yesterday and we circled the spot I wanted to hit it to, which was a three-wood shot, but I had been hitting driver well, so we went with New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Drivers and I hit a poor shot and made five there. And then another poor shot at the next compounded the error and I made two bogeys in a row,\" he said.
But after that, he didn\'t put a foot wrong as he made four more birdies to give him a nice little burst of momentum ahead of his round on the more difficult East Course - something he is eagerly anticipating.
\"I had a good year here last year - I think I shot six-under on the second day at the hard course, so if I can do that again it would be nice,\" he said.
But as good as the leaders\' 63s were, the 65 of Botes was an incredible performance early in the day before a tremendous thunderstorm suspended play for just over four hours and forced the first round to carry over to Friday.
The Pretoria professional didn\'t drop a single shot in his round of five birdies and an eagle, when he hit New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Drivers and then three wood to 15 feet on the last and holed the putt.
\"That\'s my best round as a professional on this course,\" said Botes, who won the 1991 SA Amateur here.
\"But I\'m not going to think about it too much. I just want to go out there and have fun, and play every shot as well as I can. The result will come from that. I worked hard on my New 2012 TaylorMade RocketBallZ RBZ Drivers over Christmas, so I\'m excited about the game again this year.\"
George Coetzee opened with a 65 on the West to be in a group on six under, while Retief Goosen teed off his week with a five-under-par 66 on the West.
Charl Schwartzel, hunting a historic hat-trick of titles in this event, was struggling at level par through 15 holes on the East when play ended for the day.