Kristoffer Reitan had no expectations on his debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player.
And nobody expected an incredible opening round that was one shot off the course record to give the Norwegian the lead by the end of day one.
Reitan’s nine-under-par 63 started with back-to-back birdies on his opening two holes.
Then he tore through the turn like an elephant bull on the charge with five birdies in six holes. His closing five holes featured three birdies and just a single bogey on the 17th.
It was more than enough to earn him a three-stroke lead over England’s Marcus Armitage, Frenchman Adrien Saddier and Swede Jesper Svensson who had two eagles in his second nine holes.
“I had no idea what the course record was,” Reitan said of the 62 shot by Lee Westwood in 2011. “I was just trying to hit good shots.”
“It was a brilliant day. I’m very happy with the way I played. I’ve played a lot of golf in South Africa before but I haven’t had particularly good results here, so I’m hoping to change that this week.”
On a cooler day than usual in this tournament, Reitan said it remained a challenge to quite literally not take his eye off the ball on a Gary Player Country Club course that remains a stern test in the game.
“You need to stay on top of it all the time on this golf course because it can bite you pretty quickly. It’s a tough course, but if you hit the ball well you get opportunities, which is what I saw today. But it will be a tough next three rounds to keep the quality and the concentration up.”
🔟Birdies
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 4, 2025
7️⃣Pars
1️⃣Bogey
The best of Kristoffer Reitan's opening round 63 on his debut at the Nedbank Golf Challenge 💪#NGC2025 pic.twitter.com/4aERZBBJhk
His countryman Viktor Hovland, the highest ranked player in the field, opened with a round of three-under-par 69.
The last South African winner of “Africa’s Major” was back in 2017, but two South Africans have given themselves a great chance to change that this year.
Garrick Higgo and Shaun Norris finished round one as the joint leading South Africans on four under par.
“It was a good day. The ball striking was good to start, then around the turn it wasn’t as good as I would’ve liked but my putter kept me in it. I’ve been working on ball striking so I knew if I could hit fairways and greens here I’d have a good day. It all starts off the tee here and hitting a lot of fairways and getting momentum that way,” said Higgo after his bogey-free 68.
Alongside him, Norris showed tremendous composure to bounce back from a double-bogey seven on the second hole and play his way into contention.
“I had a mishap on the second but clawed my way back. Any day you can shoot 68 around this course you’ll always be smiling,” said Norris, who responded to that seven with three birdies in his next four holes.