Jordan Wessels came out firing on all cylinders in the first round of the fourth Betway Big Easy Tour event, carding an almost-perfect eight-unfder 64 to lead by three at Glenvista Country Club.
The recently-turned-professional Wessels started his round in the afternoon when Thabiso Ngcobo had already set the clubhouse lead at 4-under-par.
A bogey on the first hole threatened his round quite early on, but the 21-year-old had other ideas.
He recovered from that early setback with a birdie on the second, parred the third and then went on a four-hole birdie stretch which was eventually halted by back-to-back pars on eight and nine.
Wessels birdied the 10th to keep his momentum going and followed that up with three more pars as he sought to keep the big numbers off his card. Another birdie got onto his card on the 14th before closing off his round with another pair of birdies.
“I played solidly,” said Wessels. “But I am struggling a bit with my ball-striking. I did not hit it as well as the score says. I just kind of managed to keep it in play and give myself a decent amount of looks and I got the putter going pretty early in the round, which helped a lot.
“The putting was really good today. It was one of those days where you need to come out and hit the ball a bit better for the rest of the week, then I’ll be on the good track.”
Wessels is three shots ahead of Ruan de Smidt whose eventful round of 67 consisted of four birdies, two eagles and three dropped shots.
“It felt like I played really well,” said De Smidt after his round. “I had three three-putts, which is never ideal but the greens are quick here. I was super disappointed with how I finished, though, especially the two par-fives on the back nine. I was on the green for two and couldn’t convert those to birdies.”
Speaking about the eagles he made on 11 and 17, De Smidt said: “On the two par-fives, I hit beautiful second shots. I think I had five-feet and five-feet on both. Two short putts for eagles. I haven’t made many of those in the last few rounds, so I am happy with that.”
Thabiso Ngcobo, Ruben Van der Berg, Sean Howell, Jacques van der Merwe and Logan Leisher are tied for third after they all signed for rounds of 68. Karabo Mokoena is in a six-way share of the eighth spot on the leaderboard, thanks an opening 69 which included a hole-in-one for Mokoena.
The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els, among other patrons.
SCORES:
64 - Jordan Wessels
67 - Ruan de Smidt
68 - Thabiso Ngcobo
68 - Jacques Van der Merwe, Ruben Van Der Berg, Logan Leisher, Sean Howell
69 - Karabo Mokoena
69 - Luke Truter, Brandon-Lee Geere, Ruan Groenewald, Luke Joy, Werner Deyzel
70 - Noel Anderson
70 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Keelan Africa, Jacquin Hess, Steven Le Roux, Minjun Heo, Dillon Germshuys, Franklin Manchest, Khanya Mkhize, Wandre Snyman, Francois van Staden
71 - Marcel Steyn Scholtz
71 - Max Orgovanyi, Jason Froneman, Haydn Driver, Daniel Smith, Travis Ladner, Lyle Pedro
72 - Wiehan Van der Walt
72 - Callum Mowat, Vaughn van Deventer, Kass Muller, Amilkar Bhana, Chandler Shaw, Sean Cronje, Leon Visser, Slade Pickering, Mitch Phigeland, Yusuf Dadoo
73 - Josh Hirsch
73 - Hannes Strooh, Ulrich van den Berg, Nick Beart, Matthew Dennis, Christian Kriek, Joshua Van der Wath, Eric Wowor, Matthew Bennett, Ethan Gough
74 - Sentanio Minnie
74 - Philip Geerts, LB Boshoff
75 - Makhetha Mazibuko
75 - Daniel Palmquist, Maheshan Naidoo, Ricco Motsa, Richard Kruger, Matthew Mortimer, Andrew Proctor, Max Nicholls, Lwazi Gqira, Jan-Hendrik Nieuwoudt, Kian Coetzer, Thabang Simon
76 - Darren Neyt
76 - Brandon Gildenhuys, Evance Vukeya, Jaco Anderson, Ethan Govender, Tanish Gudhka
77 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr
77 - Shaheed Patel, Jastice Mashego
78 - Leon Vorster
78 - Shaunak Rama, Ronald Rugumayo, John Palm, Sipho Bujela, Kael Strydom, Umar Davids, Romano Saincic
79 - Austin Cherichella
79 - Shalan Govender, Gabriel Cruz, Jarryd Govender, Louis Liebenberg, Alphius Kelapile, Khaya Jika
80 - Kyle Kistensamy
80 - Carl Mwale
82 - Kayle Wykes
82 - Drikus Joubert, Brandon-Jude Rennie
83 - Mark Maart
84 - Vuyisani Makama
85 - John Bele