South Africans Pieter Moolman and Shaun Norris closed with 7-under 65s to take the opening lead at the SDC Championship at St. Francis Links.
Moolman opened with an eagle at the par-4 first hole and shot three birdies to make the turn in 31. He produced three more birdies on the back nine as well as a bogey at the 15th.
“It’s a dream start,” said Moolman. “I just hit a really good second shot on the first hole. But where the flag is, you can’t really see much so I figured it was close but when I got up there it was actually in the hole. So yeah, I’m very happy with the start.
“It was a bit tricky because we’re not used to this wind really. It makes a lot of holes easy and some of the easier holes tougher.
“But you just have to give yourself opportunities, the course is wide, it’s playing a bit softer, so I think there’s a lot of opportunities out there.
“I do like the golf course, it’s one of my favourite ones in South Africa – I always look forward to playing here so maybe it’s just a course I really enjoy.”
Norris started with three consecutive birdies and made two more to make the turn in 31 before firing four more birdies and two bogeys on the back nine.
“I’m pretty happy with everything. I’m hitting the ball nicely. The conditions weren’t easy but I handled it well,” said Norris.
“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.”
England’s Daniel Brown shot a 66 to take third place at 6-under.
Scotland’s Connor Syme is tied in fourth place at 5-under alongside South Africans Malcolm Mitchell and Wilco Nienaber as well as Germany’s Nick Bachem.
