John Catlin of the United States carded a bogey-free 7-under 64 featuring an eagle at the par-5 18th to take a share of the lead in Kenya.
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“I feel like I left some out there on my back nine. I got off to a really hot start and just made some bad swings, I didn’t take advantage of the par fives and hit a really bad lay-up on the seventh. It was a good round of golf, I left a few out there for sure.
“A nice way to build some momentum. I feel like I’ve been close, just a poor swing here, misjudgement here, that’s all it takes out here.
“It’s very fine margins. I was able to take two weeks off, put some work in on my game and it feels like it’s starting to pay off, so I’m really excited about that.”
John Catlin and Dylan Mostert posted opening rounds of 64 to share the lead on day one. #MagicalKenyaOpen
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 9, 2023
South Africa’s Dylan Mostert, who won his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship two weeks ago, also started on the back nine and produced eight birdies before suffering a single bogey at the par-4 9th for his share of the lead.
“I’m very pleased. I played very solid today, kept the momentum going throughout the round,” said Mostert.
“Made some good putts, hit a lot of greens. The greens are small, so if you’re hitting greens you’re going to have a lot of chances. I managed to make a few putts, I’ll just keep doing the same thing. I’m excited for tomorrow.
“The greens are quite soft in the morning, they definitely firm up throughout the day. As soon as the wind picks up and the heat gets up they firm up and get faster, much tougher. It’s definitely an advantage to play early in the morning.
“I’m just grateful to be here, I got an invite. It fits nicely in my schedule and I’ll have three DP World Tour events in a row now, going to South Africa.”
France’s Pierre Pineau remained bogey-free while the Netherlands’ Wil Besseling carded eight birdies and a double bogey at the par-4 15th for a share of third place one shot behind.
England’s Tom Murray, South Africa’s Casey Jarvis, Germany’s Nick Bachem, Spain’s Borja Virto and Malaysia‘s Gavin Green lie one shot further behind in fifth place.
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