Defending champion Max Homa closed with a 6-under 66 featuring three consecutive birdies from the first hole and back-to-back birdies from the 17th as well as two bogeys to take a one-shot lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
“I thought I played really well,” said the American. “It was really tricky with the wind, it did a complete flip on seven, so it threw us through a bit of a loop but I thought I did a really good job of adjusting to it.
“Made one mistake on the 15th, leaving it long of that pin, but otherwise I did a pretty good job of playing within myself and not hitting shots I don’t love to hit, so yeah it was good.
“It felt really good because I haven’t played a tournament in a while and I have been working on a lot of new stuff, so to come out and birdie the first three holes was cool. The way I was doing it felt nice and I felt really comfortable with the golf swing for the most part, so it is definitely one I will remember, that is for sure.”
South African Ockie Strydom eagled the par-5 14th, bogeyed the par-4 15h and made four birdies for a 67 to take solo second place at 5-under.
England’s Andy Sullivan and Matthew Jordan both carded 69s for a share of third place at 3-under alongside Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal and Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen.
