Maccauvlei Country Club’s Johan Theron credited a solid wedge game for his opening round of five-under-par 67 which gave him a one-shot lead in the Altron Big Easy Tour tournament played at Soweto Country Club.
Despite never playing this track before, Theron was comfortable even in the cold weather that had enveloped Pimville on Tuesday.
“I was hitting a lot of good wedges today,” said Theron. “I thought the trick for me was to hit my wedges on the number because the flags were right in front on the greens. With the firm greens here, and being short-sighted here, it gets pretty tough. So, you had to hit the right numbers, and choosing the right spot to pitch it on the green was also important. And, I was rolling it nicely on the greens.”
Theron made five birdies on the front nine but gave away two shots on the same stretch while his homeward nine was characterised by three birdies and yet another drop.
“I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities out there,” added Theron, “and that was part of my game plan. You have to stay patient and wait for the right moments and let the putter do the work. The greens here are quite challenging and in fact, I think these greens are probably some of the best greens we’ve played on this season.
“But, I think my short game came through and with the right mindset and a solid game plan, we managed to put a good round of golf together. I’d never played Soweto before but my caddie is familiar with the track and we had a solid practice round on Monday, so I think it’s gone quite well up to now.”
A single stroke off Theron’s lead lies Werner Deyzel who also played superbly to sign for a 68. In a tie for third on the leaderboard are Ricky Hendler, Robin Williams and Jordan Duminy who all carded rounds of three-under 69. Ruan de Smidt, Caylum Boon and Otto Van Buynder tie the sixth spot on two-under-par.
This 54-hole tournament is the third of a 12-event long season of this Sunshine Tour developmental tour which was first commissioned in 2011.