Zambian professional Madalitso Muthiya opened with a birdie and an eagle in his first two holes on his way to an eight-under-par 63 and the first-round lead in the Stella Artois Players Championship at Dainfern Golf Estate on Thursday.
Muthiya’s fast start to this Sunshine Tour event included another birdie at the fourth and he dropped only one shot in a solid round that sees him one stroke clear of the field.
“I played exceptionally well. I hit good tee shots and iron shots and putted well. I’m pretty excited about this start,” said Muthiya.
Jaco Ahlers, Tristen Strydom and Dylan Naidoo are his nearest challengers following their rounds of 64.
Rising star Luca Filippi also made a positive start with his six-under-par 65 and continues his good form in a year where he’s only missed two cuts.
Muthiya’s last and to date only victory on the Sunshine Tour came in the 2016 Vodacom Origins of Golf Wild Coast, which made him the first Zambian professional to win on the Tour.
He’s come close to ending that drought with a second place in last year’s SunBet Challenge at Sun City. In December 2018 he almost added his name to the prestigious South African Open trophy when he challenged for this title at Randpark before losing out to Louis Oosthuizen and finishing tied seventh overall.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well throughout the course of this year but my putter has let me down. It’s not that I’m necessarily hitting bad putts, but sometimes you go through a season where you just don’t make putts. It’s been frustrating for me because it came around the time of the Challenge Tour events. So I’m pretty pleased that the putts have started to drop this week,” Muthiya said.
Behind him, Muthiya has the experience of nine-time Sunshine Tour winner Ahlers, who didn’t drop a single shot in his opening round. And alongside Ahlers is the youth of Strydom and Naidoo.
Strydom in particular has been pushing hard for a breakthrough victory on the Sunshine Tour. He has four second-place finishes, most notably when he recently finished runner-up in the Challenge Tour co-sanctioned Mangaung Open in Bloemfontein.
Defending champion Jaco Prinsloo is four shots off the lead following a 67, while multiple DP World Tour champion George Coetzee struggled on day one with a round of two-over 73.
FIRST ROUND SCORES:
63 - Madalitso Muthiya
64 - Jaco Ahlers, Tristen Strydom, Dylan Naidoo
65 - Chris Cannon, Luca Filippi
66 - Combrinck Smit, Luke Brown, Ockie Strydom, Christiaan Basson, Jared Harvey
67 - Richard Joubert, Neil Schietekat, Rupert Kaminski, Jaco Prinsloo, Michael Palmer, Estiaan Conradie
68 - Callum Mowat, Matias Calderon, Louis Albertse, Divan van den Heever, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Derick Petersen, Keagan Thomas, Quintin Wilsnach, Kyle Barker, Hennie O'Kennedy, Harry Konig, Jacques Blaauw, CJ du Plessis, Jean Hugo, Martin Vorster, Allister de Kock
69 - Rourke van der Spuy, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Freddy Schott, Siyanda Mwandla, MJ Viljoen, Thanda Mavundla, Heinrich Bruiners, Deon Germishuys, James Kingston, Keith Horne, JJ Senekal, Merrick Bremner, Jacquin Hess, Jason Roets
70 - Albert Venter, Stuart Smith, Andrew Williamson, Luke Jerling, Martin Rohwer, Marthin Scheepers, Ricky Hendler, Pieter Moolman, Jayden Schaper, Chris Swanepoel, Adilson Da Silva, Stephen Ferreira, Jake Redman, Adriel Poonan, Jack Duthie
71 - Hayden Griffiths, Ben Firth, Clinton Grobler, Lyle Rowe, Teaghan Gauche, Alphius Kelapile, Brooklin Bailey, Ruan Korb, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Ruan Conradie, Toto Thimba Jnr, Peter Karmis, Rhys West, Roberto Lupini, Cameron Moralee
72 - Coert Groenewald, Jacques P de Villiers, Dylan Mostert, Wallie Coetsee, Philip Geerts, Hennie Otto, Leon Visser, Evance Vukeya, PH McIntyre, Pierre Pellegrin, Keenan Davidse, Malcolm Mitchell, Byron Coetzee
73 - Mark Williams, Dayne Moore, Andre De Decker, Yubin Jung, Matthew Spacey, George Coetzee, Alex Haindl, Jason Smith, Doug McGuigan
74 - Thabiso Ngcobo, Mike Maile, Ruan de Smidt, Desne Van Den Bergh, James Kamte, Shaahid Mahmed, Thabang Simon, Michael Hollick, Richie O'Donovan, Clayton Mansfield, Nikhil Rama, Wynand Dingle, Makhetha Mazibuko
75 - Tumelo Molloyi, James Pennington, Robson Chinhoi, Shalan Govender, Ian Snyman
76 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Riekus Nortje, Bradford Vaughan
77 - Irvin Mazibuko, Brandon-Jude Rennie, Jason Diab, Peetie van der Merwe, Greg Bentley, Dwayne Basson
78 - Lindani Ndwandwe
DSQ- Willy Deus Kitata