England’s Marcus Armitage, who goes by the nickname ‘The Bullet’, has blown the SA Open at the Randpark Golf Club, hosted by the City of Johannesburg, wide open after a round of 62 on Saturday, writes ANDRE HUISAMEN.
The man from Salford, Manchester, is sitting on 14 under par and currently in second position, pending on the outcome of other groups still out on the field.
But Armitage’s brilliant third round, which included two eagles, has put him right in contention to claim his maiden European Tour title on Sunday after getting his tour card back in 2017.
The 32-year-old, though, was somewhat lost for words and in a bit of shock, following the competition of his round.
‘That’s why we play golf, for days like today and it was just magic. I haven’t been in the lead for a long time, so it’s good to be able to finish it off and have a good round,’ said Armitage.
The Englishman made a flying start to the competition on Friday with a round of 65 but struggled on the Bushfire course on Friday, where he shot a disappointing one over 71.
Everything seemed to tick for him on Saturday, however, as he decided to take things in his stride, sinking six birdie putts and the two eagles. An unfortunate bogey on the 18th prevented him from an even lower score.
‘I struggled yesterday – I didn’t strike it too well with the driver so I just calmed everything down today. There were no expectations and I just went out to play golf and to enjoy it. It was my day today, a few things happened and it’s going to be my day again tomorrow hopefully,’ said Armitage.
He seems to have a liking for the Randpark Golf Club after finishing fifth here at the Joburg Open in 2018 and admits that the course adds some favour to his game.
‘I think it just suits my game. It is pretty much target golf here and some generous fairways with nice surfaces to put the ball on – I just gelled with it really well.’
