– By Michael Vlismas (edited)
St Francis Bay: Two South African golfers ’ Pieter Moolman and Shaun Norris share the lead in today’s first round of the SDC Championship following their of seven-under-par 65
achievements
No commercial usage. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour)
No commercial usage. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour)
Although they played at opposite ends of the draw, both Moolman and Norris started their rounds equally strong.
Moolman holed out for eagle at the first and made two birdies thereafter, while Norris opened with three straight birdies.
“It was a dream start,” Moolman said, and one which reflected his love for this Jack Nicklaus layout. “I like this golf course. It’s one of my favourites in South Africa.
“I always look forward to playing it. On the first hole I just hit a really good second shot, but where the flag is you can’t really see much, so I figured it was close and when I got up there it was in the hole. I’m very happy with that start.”
Norris was just as pleased with his start to this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.
““I’m pretty happy with everything. I’m hitting the ball nicely. The conditions weren’t easy but I handled it well. I just hit the ball well, gave myself great opportunities and took advantage of those.
“But I always love coastal conditions. It just sort of balances out the field because it’s about who controls the ball the best. So I’m happy with where I’m standing.”
Their nearest challenger is England’s Daniel Brown whose 66 was a remarkable effort considering he only arrived at St Francis Links late yesterday and had no practice round before going out early this morning.
“I missed my flight on Monday in Frankfurt and couldn’t fly till Tuesday night. I only arrived at the golf course at about 4:30pm yesterday and went straight to the physios. So it wasn’t the best preparation but, it’s a crazy game,” he said.
South Africans Wilco Nienaber and Malcolm Mitchell as well as Germany’s Nick Bachem and Scotland’s Connor Syme all finished the day on five under par.
Scores:
-7 – Pieter Moolman, Shaun Norris
-6 – Daniel Brown
-5 – Wilco Nienaber, Malcolm Mitchell, Nick Bachem, Connor Syme
-4 – Matteo Manassero, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Jordan Gumberg, James Nicholas, Francesco Laporta, Ugo Coussaud, Jayden Schaper
* For full scores please visit www.sunshinetour.com
