LB Boshoff carded an untainted opening round of six-under-par 64 on Tuesday to take a one-shot lead in the fifth tournament of the Betway Big Easy Tour held at CMR Golf Club.
Boshoff made par on the first hole to settle into his round. Then, he went on the offensive, sinking four birdies on the trot. Those were followed by nine straight pars as Boshoff sought to keep the big numbers off his card. His patience paid off as Boshoff made further gains towards the end of his round, birdieing the 15th and the 18th to seal a blemish-free 64.
“This morning, I felt good with my wedges,” Boshoff said after his round. “I had a lot of wedges in and I stuck them close; inside six feet, and I made them all. Then the wind picked up, and things got slow, things got a bit difficult. The holes got longer, funny enough. But, I made birdie on 15 and 18, so I’m very happy with my round.”
While acknowledging his wedges for the success of the first round, Boshoff noted that the birdies he made earlier in his round were key to him staying composed even when they were hard to come by in the latter stages of the round.
“Look, you always have nerves on the first tee,” he said, “but after making four birdies in a row, you settle down and you get into your groove and you settle down. But this course is playing difficult. The front nine is not so much tree-lined as the back nine, and you can hit a few drivers out there.
“But if you miss the fairways you can get some tough lies, and because the flags are quite tricky and the greens are firm. It’s quite difficult, the course.”
Second on the leaderboard and just a single stroke off the pace lies Jacques Van der Merwe. Despite making a heartbreaking seven on the par-four second hole, Van Der Merwe stayed focused throughout the round and produced a fine five-under 65 to keep within reach of Boshoff’s lead.
“I hit a 6-iron down the middle, but when we got there, my ball was gone,” said Van der Merwe of that unfortunate seven he made on the second. “Then I had to go back to the tee box and hit a 6-iron again, in the middle, but at least we found the ball this time. The marshal found my lost ball afterwards, but I didn’t know if I wanted it back.
“The good thing is I didn’t allow that second hole to define me. I hit my shots exactly how I wanted to. I just tried to forget about that hole and stuck to my game plan. Sometimes you get lucky in golf and sometimes you get unlucky, so I just had the ability to reset my emotions and take it from the start. It was good and I’m super-proud of myself.”
Regan Steyn, Richard Joubert, Haydn Porteous, Drikus Joubert, England’s Joe Sullivan and Liam Ross all signed for 66s to share the third spot on the leaderboard. Ten players share ninth, including Khanya Mkhize, Jason Froneman and veteran Teboho Sefatsa among them.
The Betway Big Easy Tour is the Sunshine Tour’s feeder circuit and enjoys the support of the legendary Ernie Els, among other patrons.
Scores
64 - LB Boshoff
65 - Jacques Van der Merwe
66 - Regan Steyn, Richard Joubert, Haydn Porteous, Drikus Joubert, Joe Sullivan, Liam Ross
67 - Johnathan Ackerman, Sean Howell, Bradley De Beer, Louis Liebenberg, David Amm, Jaden Deltel, Teboho Sefatsa, Leon Vorster, Jason Froneman, Khanya Mkhize
68 - Brandon Pieters, Bernard Jansen van Vuuren, Dean Ralphs, Brandon Gildenhuys, Harry Konig, Lyle Pedro
69 - Kian Coetzer, Jayden Hoskins, Leon Visser
70 - Austin Cherichella, Jonathan Waschefort, Steven Le Roux, Daniel Cronje, Andrew McLardy, Vaughn van Deventer
71 - Dillon Germshuys, Enzo Barbaglia, Keelan Africa, Andrew Williamson, Therion Nel, Shaunak Rama, Kayle Wykes
72 - Philip Geerts, Travis Ladner, Matthew Bennett, Matt Millar, Christiaan Pretorius, Kael Strydom, Wandre Snyman, John Bele, Ryan Tipping, Reece Mc Kain, Shaydon Johnson, Hayden Garcia
73 - Tiago Jorge Swart, M-Jay Xaba, Muhammad Dadoo, Carl Mwale, Kyle Kistensamy, Johan Theron, Gary Kemp, Adam Breen, Travis Procter, Andre Van Zyl
74 - Evance Vukeya, Jabulane Mabilane, Matthew Rushton, Matthew Dennis, Irvin Mosate wa Mazibuko, Shaheed Patel, Oliver Goldhill
75 - Mark Maart, Tiger Adams, Alphius Kelapile, Wade Jacobs, Jarryd Govender
76 - Ricco Motsa, John Palm
77 - Tristin Galant
79 - Tawriq Abrahams, Yusuf Dadoo
81 - Chandler Shaw