Aiken Now The Favourite as Oosthuizen Withdraws in Joburg

Louis Oosthuizen’s bid for a second straight European Tour victory didn’t even get off the first tee on Thursday as the Open champion withdrew from the Joburg Open for unspecified reasons making countryman Thomas Aiken the favourite heading to round two.

Aiken fired a clean 7-under 64 to sit two back of leaders Martin Maritz and Tyrone Mordt.  The only blip in Aiken’s 8 birdie round came on his final hole where he failed to get up and down for par making bogey on the par-5 18th.

With another weak South African field, Aiken has as good a shot as he’ll ever have at getting his first career European Tour victory.

With few others to choose from after Oosthuizen withdrew, it makes sense Aiken is the bookmakers’ favourite at (3-1).

Second on the books’ board is the only other notable South African in the field, Charl Schwartzel, but he only shot a 68 and struggled to make birdie on anything but the par-5’s on Thursday.

Granted, Schwartzel will be moving over to the easier West Course at the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club where the majority of the low scores were shot in round one.

He will need a solid round to get in the mix for the weekend and it all comes down to his putter.  If his putter forces him to rely on the par-5’s, it doesn’t look as though he’ll be able to insert himself into the victory conversation with low scores being shot on both courses.

The bookies seem to want to stick with the familiar as there’s no other reason they would have a guy who’s six shots back at (5-1).

Round one co-leader Martin Maritz has never made a cut on the European Tour having plied his trade almost exclusively on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour.

Regardless, the books have him as their fourth pick at (12-1) in what is an inexplicable change in philosophy from the line put on Charl Schwartzel.

It’s more than a bit puzzling that so much faith would be put in a player who’s never made a cut on a major tour.

European Tour veteran Robert Rock sits just ahead of Maritz as the bookies’ third choice and he’s currently four off the lead.

It was a solid opening round for a player who had two top-10’s at the beginning of the African swing at the Alfred Dunhill and South African Open.

It would be no surprise if Rock continues to stay with the leaders and a good round tomorrow could make his case for victory even stronger as the ‘small fish’ should begin to fall off.

Golf isn't just my business, it's my hobby   - Lee Trevino