Englishman Jacob Oakley enjoyed a welcome respite from the tough maiden Sunshine Tour campaign he is enduring as he fired a wonderful seven-under-par 65 on Friday to lead after the first round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event.
The 26-year-old from Cheshire has missed the cut in six of the seven Sunshine Tour events he has played in this season, but he did finish tied-53rd in the SunBet Challenge Times Square Casino tournament at the end of last month.
Oakley started on the 10th hole at Sishen Golf Club with three straight pars, but then caught fire with a birdie on the par-three 13th and an eagle on the par-five 15th to go out in three-under. The product of Styal Golf Club, where he was mentored by four-time DP World Tour winner David Horsey, was superb on the front nine, picking up further birdies on the second, fourth, fifth and eighth holes to claim a one-stroke lead over Malcolm Mitchell after the first day out in the Kalahari.
Mitchell continued his good recent form as he shot a 66 which included just one bogey, on the par-four 12th. The 29-year-old, coming off top-10 finishes in his last two Sunshine Tour events, was faultless on a front nine in which he claimed three birdies. Remarkably, he made fours at all four of the par-fives on the highly-rated 6554m course.
“I drove the ball well today and I was able to take advantage of the par-fives, hitting all of them in two. And I also didn’t make any basic errors, like three-putting,” Mitchell said when asked how his success came about.
“The wind was all over the show, it had a mind of its own, so it was quite difficult out there. Luckily I’m a Durban boy though and I was able to figure it out. It’s just great that the hard work is starting to show and I’m just focusing on myself more than anything else. The mind controls everything, so I’m just trying to keep positive and stay in the present,” Mitchell said.
Kyle de Beer, who has already won nearly R600 000 in his rookie season, is tied for third on five-under-par with Simon du Plooy and Albert Venter.
Pietermaritzburg’s Neil Schietekat is among the group tied for sixth place on four-under-par.
Martin Vorster also finished with a 68, having been six-under-par with four holes left to play. But the closing holes of the front nine proved to be a bit of a mountain to climb for the 22-year-old making his way back from injury and he dropped two shots coming home.
SCORES:
65 - Jacob Oakley
66 - Malcolm Mitchell
67 - Kyle De Beer, Simon du Plooy, Albert Venter
68 - Nick Cunningham, Neil Schietekat, Martin Vorster, Lyle Rowe, Deon Germishuys
69 - Yurav Premlall, Heinrich Bruiners, Matthew Spacey, Shaahid Mahmed, Hennie O'Kennedy
70 - Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Jacques Blaauw
71 - Daniel van Tonder, Jacques P de Villiers, Jean-Paul Strydom, Jbe Kruger, Ricky Hendler, Jean Hugo, Graham van der Merwe
72 - Brandon Meads, Stuart Krog, Dayne Moore, Rhys West, Jovan Rebula, Keegan Mclachlan, Stals Swart, Ruan Conradie, Jack Hawksby, Ruan de Smidt, Franklin Manchest, Jabulane Mabilane, Jason Roets, Christiaan Burke, Haydn Porteous, Jaco Van Zyl, Ethan Smith, Ruan Korb, Callum Mowat, Doug McGuigan, Jake Redman, Sentanio Minnie
73 - Stefan Wears-Taylor, Luke Brown, Fredrik From, Conner Mackenzie, MJ Viljoen, Gerhard Pepler, Keagan Thomas, Trevor Mahoney, DK Kim, Thabiso Ngcobo, Ruan Groenewald
74 - Keelan Africa, Werner Deyzel, Quintin Wilsnach, Nikhil Rama, Luke Jerling, Travis Ladner, Altin van der Merwe, Kyle Barker, Jonathan Broomhead, Rourke van der Spuy, Allister de Kock, James Hart du Preez, Keelan van Wyk, Steven Le Roux, Gregory Mckay, Toto Thimba Jnr, Jordan Duminy, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Craig Ross, Regan Steyn, Samuel Simpson
75 - David Amm, Jacquin Hess, Wynand Dingle, Peter Karmis, Combrinck Smit, Stephen Ferreira, Umar Davids, Estiaan Conradie, Brandon Gildenhuys, Vaughn van Deventer, Lora Assad, Andrew Williamson
76 - Joe Long, Dylan Naidoo, Herman Loubser, Hennie Otto, Danie Van Niekerk, Alex Haindl, Gabrielle Venter, Isabella van Rooyen, Martin Rohwer, Pierre Pellegrin
77 - Promise Sombreiro, Andre De Decker, Keenan Davidse, James Mack, Makhetha Mazibuko, Leon Vorster, Adam Breen, Therion Nel, Kirby Coe-Kirkham, Christiaan Basson, Cornel Muller
78 - Otto Van Buynder, Gerard du Plooy, Ronald Rugumayo, Bradford Vaughan, Terence Boardman, Thanda Mavundla, Nadia van der Westhuizen, Slenda Sithebe, Njoroge Kibugu, Gary Kemp, Chante van Zyl
79 - Lyle Pedro, Sean Bradley, Christian Kriek
80 - Christopher Long, Richard Kruger, Merrick Bremner, Hayden Griffiths, Jastice Mashego, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu
81 - LB Boshoff, Boeta Nasie
82 - Tristin Galant
83 - Irvin Mazibuko, Danielle du Toit
84 - Shaydon Johnson
85 - Llewellyn Leibrandt, James Pennington
90 - Kim de Klerk