Haydn Porteous’s love for golf in Zambia shone through as he led the first round of the Mopani Zambia Open at the Nkana Golf Club on Thursday.
Porteous, the Sunshine Tour’s Comeback Player of the Year last season, made a strong statement with his opening five-under-par 67 to lead by one stroke over Chile’s Martin Leon.
The South African has a strong record in Zambia, having finished tied fifth and tied fourth here before.
Porteus took advantage of an early tee time on a challenging Nkana Golf Club course. The South African, who teed off on the 10th, rolled in four birdies on his way out before adding another birdie on his second nine for the lead.
A sparkling ✨ 67 hands @HaydnPorteous the clubhouse lead on day 1️⃣ of the #MopaniZambiaOpen
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) June 11, 2026
Open the Sunshine Tour App📲 for live leaderboard 📊#greatnessbeginshere #sunshinetour pic.twitter.com/la8FUlv5ih
But only 14 golfers in the field were able to shoot under par on day one.
“I’m really happy with my round today. To go bogey-free is always good, no matter where you are. The course played quite tricky as it was very firm, but I chipped and scrambled well and took the opportunities that were given to me,” Porteus said.
The Chilean Leon ended his front nine with three birdies in a row before adding four more birdies on his back nine to briefly take the overall lead. But a double bogey on his last hole pushed him into second place.
But Porteous is looking to build on the momentum of his victory in last year's Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm that ended a lengthy win drought.
“I’m all-in-all very happy with my game and hopefully I can keep going for the next three rounds,” he said.
South Africa’s Rigardt Albertse and Pierre Viallaneix from France opened with respective rounds of three-under-par 69 and are in joint third place.
Defending champion Samuel Simpson signed for a three-over-par 75.
How it ended on day one in Kitwe🇿🇲📊#MopaniZambiaOpen #greatnessbeginshere #sunshinetour pic.twitter.com/YWv31FkVBa
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) June 11, 2026
SCORES
67 - Haydn Porteous 67
68 - Martin Leon 68
69 - Rigardt Albertse 69
69 - Pierre Viallaneix 69
70 - Estiaan Conradie 70
70 - James Mack 70, Benjamin Van Wyk 70
71 - Kyle McClatchie 71
71 - Cole Stevens 71, Jacques Blaauw 71, Jason Roets 71, Warwick Purchase 71, Daniel Cronje 71, Kyle Barker 71
72 - Conner Mackenzie 72
72 - Dayne Moore 72, Jordan Burnand 72, Simon du Plooy 72, Charl Barnard 72, Carter Rowe 72, Tomas Gana 72, Wynand Dingle 72, Travis Procter 72, Stephen Ferreira 72, Brandon-Lee Geere 72
73 - Drikus Joubert 73
73 - Graham van der Merwe 73, Matthew Spacey 73, Justin Walters 73, Pieter Moolman 73, Rhys Enoch 73, Robson Chinhoi 73, Cosmas Mufaya 73, Rowan Lester 73, Visitor Mapwanya 73, Luke Brown 73, Allen John 73, Joe Sullivan 73
74 - Bradley Kulaisi 74
74 - Keegan Mclachlan 74, Stals Swart 74, Keagan Thomas 74, Gabriel Chibale 74, Dillon Germshuys 74, Albert Venter 74, Toto Thimba Jnr 74, Kyle De Beer 74, Hayden Griffiths 74, Rupert Kaminski 74, Pierre Pellegrin 74
75 - Travis Ladner 75
75 - Adam Breen 75, Samuel Simpson 75, Jaco Prinsloo 75, Altin van der Merwe 75, Quintin Wilsnach 75, Christiaan Burke 75, Astin Arthur 75, Gilbert Chalwe 75, Michael Chuma 75, Tristin Galant 75, Jacques Van der Merwe 75, Gabriel Morgan 75, Darlington Chikayambidze 75, Jaden Deltel 75, Michael Wallace 75, Ronald Rugumayo 75
76 - Ruan Korb 76
76 - Jordan Duminy 76, Kian Coetzer 76, Brandon Pieters 76, Stuart Krog 76, JJ Senekal 76, Keenan Davidse 76, Agustin Errazuriz 76, Matt Millar 76
77 - Otto Van Buynder 77
77 - Nikhil Rama 77, Lyle Rowe 77, Merrick Bremner 77, Benjamin Kedochim 77, Luke Jerling 77, Neil Schietekat 77, Kian Rose 77, Paul Adam Chidale 77, Jacques P de Villiers 77, Lwazi Gqira 77, Liam Grehan 77, Rhys West 77, Tristan Leonard 77
78 - Dominic Musonda 78
78 - Kelvin Chibuye 78, Martin Rohwer 78, Ryan van der Klis 78, Ntengwa Mukosa 78, Carlos Bustos 78, Emmanuel Chuma 78, Tristen Strydom 78, Gustavo Silva 78, Ricky Hendler 78, Aaron Simfukwe Jnr 78, Raphael Phiri 78
79 - Leonard Chibwe 79
79 - Morton Muwowo 79, Ethan Smith 79, Nicholas Lavarone 79, Vuyisani Makama 79, Stalion Daka 79, Oliver Goldhill 79
80 - Biggie Chibvuri 80
80 - Xander Basson 80, Njoroge Kibugu 80, Elijah Ckikando 80
81 - Shaydon Johnson 81
81 - Dezzie Ngandu 81
82 - Matengele Kaira 82
82 - Lyle Pedro 82, Vincent Kabaso 82, Simon Lumbwe 82, Shaunak Rama 82
83 - Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa 83
83 - Dian Kruger 83, Darren Neyt 83
84 - Denmark Mulambo 84
84 - Sydney Joseph Wemba 84, Beza Daka 84, Musambo Kapoma JNR 84
85 - Keanu Pestana 85
85 - Innocent Chalwe 85, Humphrey Chisanga 85
87 - Gerhard Pepler 87
RTD - Heinrich Bruiners RTD