Wynand Dingle plays the guitar as well as he plays golf, and the Sunshine Tour professional definitely started on a high note with his opening seven-under-par 65 to share the first round lead in the South African PGA Championship, sponsored by African Bank, at St Francis Links on Thursday.
Dingle dropped only one shot in a round that was later matched by Sunshine Tour rookie Stals Swart.
They are both two strokes clear of their nearest challengers in Estiaan Conradie, Heinrich Bruiners and JJ Senekal. Senekal finished third in this event in 2014.
A look into the post round moment with joint leader in the clubhouse, @Wasswart 🎥 #PGAChampsSA #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/Q6QI65mmTq
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) November 21, 2024
It was a solid start to the championship for Dingle in particular, who grew up in the Karoo and as a 10-year-old used to carry around a piece of AstroTurf to hit golf balls off.
With one victory to his name in the 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf San Lameer, Dingle has now given himself a perfect start to chase what would be the biggest victory of his career in South Africa’s second-oldest professional tournament.
Jaco van Zyl also made a strong start to line up potential history of his own.
Van Zyl opened with a round of four-under-par 68. The three-time winner is chasing a rare place in South African PGA Championship history. Should he win it a fourth time, he will join Harold Henning as the only other player to have done so.
George Coetzee also signed for a first round of 68 as he continues his comeback from wrist surgery. Coetzee won the second of his South African PGA Championship titles on this golf course in 2022.
Rupert Kaminski had a tough start to his title defence with an opening round of 73.
The South African PGA Championship is also proudly supported by the Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA), the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, the Kouga Local Municipality, Momentum and Cape St Francis Resort.
SELECTED FIRST-ROUND SCORES
-7 - Wynand Dingle 65, Stals Swart 65
-5 - Estiaan Conradie 67, JJ Senekal 67, Heinrich Bruiners 67
-4 - Graham van der Merwe 68, Nick Cunningham 68, Lyle Rowe 68, Jaco Van Zyl 68, Deon Germishuys 68, Rourke van der Spuy 68, Dylan Naidoo 68, George Coetzee 68, Rhys West 68, Callum Mowat 68
-3 - Malcolm Mitchell 69, Luke Brown 69, Nikhil Rama 69, CJ du Plessis 69, Tyran Snyders 69, Jean-Paul Strydom 69, Jean Hugo 69, Quintin Wilsnach 69
-2 - Martin Vorster 70, Barend Botha 70, Ethan Smith 70, Jaco Prinsloo 70, Christiaan Basson 70, Oliver Bekker 70, Conner Mackenzie 70
-1 - Pierre Pellegrin 71, Irvin Mazibuko 71, Danie Van Niekerk 71, Herman Loubser 71, Jacques Blaauw 71, Matthew Spacey 71, Keenan Davidse 71, Robson Chinhoi 71, Craig Ross 71
Par - Samuel Simpson 72, Sean Bradley 72, Franklin Manchest 72, Brandon Meads 72, Dayne Moore 72, Keelan van Wyk 72, Altin van der Merwe 72, Fredrik From 72, Hennie O'Kennedy 72, Ockie Strydom 72, Martin Rohwer 72, Daniel van Tonder 72, Gerhard Pepler 72, MJ Viljoen 72, Jacob Oakley 72