A strong back nine carried Neil Schietekat to an opening eight-under-par 64 and a one-stroke lead in Wednesday’s first round of the Sunbet Challenge hosted by Time Square at Wingate Park Country Club.
Schietekat teed off the first and turned in two under par before an impressive back nine of six birdies earned him the lead.
“I did hit my driver really good, so the par fives on the back nine gave me birdie opportunities that I took. I didn’t miss a single fairway on the back nine and made the putts that I needed to make,” said Schietekat.
“Overall, it was windy out there so my gameplan was to try and get the ball as close as possible to the green, but the cross winds made it quite tough.”
Schietekat’s 64 is a welcome return to form for the five-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, whose last victory came in 2023.
“It’s been a tough year and golf is a crazy game – you have some highs and you have some lows. You just have to remember the highs, because sometimes the lows last a little bit longer.”
James Mack is his nearest challenger following a 65 where he was the only player in the current top 10 not to drop a shot on day one of this Sunshine Tour event.
Jacques Blaauw, Jean-Paul Strydom and Martin Vorster are tied for third on six under par.
Mexico’s Luis Carrera, currently lying second on the Sunshine Tour’s Courier Guy Order of Merit, opened with a round of five-under-par 67, while Yurav Premlall, who lost in a playoff for last week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf title, is just four shots off the lead.
SCORES
64 - Neil Schietekat
65 - James Mack
66 - Jacques Blaauw, Jean-Paul Strydom, Martin Vorster
67 - Jacquin Hess, Luis Carrera, Ricky Hendler, Paul Boshoff
68 - Tyran Snyders, Simon du Plooy, Ethan Smith, Marcus Sandile Taylor, Samuel Simpson, Yurav Premlall, George Coetzee, Martin Rohwer, Jacques P de Villiers, CJ du Plessis, Kyle Barker, Jordan Duminy, Conner Mackenzie
69 - Jonathan Broomhead, Stals Swart, Christian Kriek, Rowan Lester, Sean Cronje, Gerhard Pepler, Luke Jerling, Austin Bautista
70 - Kieran Vincent, Jake Redman, Peter Karmis, Franklin Manchest, Louis Albertse, Pieter Moolman, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Albert Venter, Keelan van Wyk, Tyrone Ryan, Joe Long
71 - Estiaan Conradie, James Pennington, Ruan Conradie, Leon Vorster, Jaco Prinsloo, Anthony Michael, Lyle Rowe, Michael Hollick, Stephen Ferreira, Tyron Davidowitz, Jack Hawksby, Jastice Mashego, Mandla Dlamini Jnr, Ulrich van den Berg, Matthew Spacey, Doug McGuigan, Altin van der Merwe, Fredrik From, Benjamin Van Wyk, Luca Filippi, Ruan de Smidt
72 - Quintin Wilsnach, Luke Brown, Herman Loubser, Oliver Bekker, JJ Senekal, Ruan Korb, Rourke van der Spuy, Warwick Purchase, Eric Wowor, Christo Roos, Liam Grehan, Rupert Kaminski, Christiaan Burke, Nikhil Rama, Dylan Mostert, Xander Basson, Rhys West, Graham van der Merwe, Christiaan Basson, Keagan Thomas, Jordan Burnand, Joe Knox, Sentanio Minnie, Tomas Gana, Mikkel Antonsen
73 - Tristen Strydom, Hennie Otto, Jaco Ahlers, Heinrich Bruiners, Pierre Pellegrin, Allister de Kock, Ruan Groenewald, Stuart Krog, Marcel Steyn Scholtz, Kyle McClatchie, Wynand Dingle, Brandon Meads, Toto Thimba Jnr, Pierre Viallaneix
74 - Zachary Chegwidden, Tumelo Molloyi, Allen John, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Nick Cunningham, Kyle De Beer, Makhetha Mazibuko, Thabiso Ngcobo, Otto Van Buynder, Gregory Mckay, Thanda Mavundla, Jean Hugo, Keenan Davidse
75 - Jason Broomhead, Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, Trevor Mahoney, Danie Van Niekerk, Hennie O'Kennedy, Keegan Mclachlan, Slade Pickering, MJ Viljoen, Jason Roets, Luke Mayo, Thomas Spreadborough
76 - Hayden Griffiths, Werner Deyzel, Robson Chinhoi, Ryan van der Klis, Umar Davids, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Keanu Pestana
77 - Karabo Mokoena
78 - Irvin Mosate wa Mazibuko, Keelan Africa