Fresh from his maiden Sunshine Tour victory a week ago, Mexico’s Luis Carrera is leading from the front once again after Thursday’s opening round of the Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am at Irene Country Club.
Carrera set the pace with a nine-under-par 63 in which he never dropped a single shot in the Sunshine Tour’s second tournament of the 2025/2026 season.
He leads by one shot over the experienced Trevor Fisher Jnr., while the quarter of Ryan van Velzen, JC Ritchie, Kyle de Beer and Gerhard Pepler are just two shots off the lead.
Carrera’s faultless round started in perfect fashion with a birdie on the opening hole, followed by an eagle on the second. After turning in 32, the Mexican ended his opening round strong with birdies on the last two holes to take the overall lead.
It was another positive start by the latest star on the Sunshine Tour who is looking for back-to-back victories after winning last week’s FBC Zim Open. And this victory came in his first tournament as a Sunshine Tour member following his victory in the Qualifying School.
Behind him, nine-time Sunshine Tour champion Fisher Jnr, signalled his intent with a stellar back nine of 30 and held the clubhouse lead for most of the day before Carrera overtook him.
Former PGA Tour champion Dylan Frittelli opened with a round of three-under-par 69.
The strong field this week is reflected in the scoring, with over half the field scoring under par on day one.
SCORES:
63 - Luis Carrera 63
64 - Trevor Fisher Jnr 64
65 - Ryan Van Velzen 65, JC Ritchie 65, Kyle De Beer 65, Gerhard Pepler 65
66 - Samuel Simpson 66, Jonathan Broomhead 66, Martin Vorster 66, Jovan Rebula 66
67 - Oliver Bekker 67, Rhys Enoch 67, Conner Mackenzie 67, Rourke van der Spuy 67
68 - Keenan Davidse 68, Malcolm Mitchell 68, Jack Hawksby 68, Brandon Meads 68, Ruan Korb 68, Joe Knox 68, Thomas Spreadborough 68, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 68, Graham van der Merwe 68
69 - Simon du Plooy 69, Keelan Africa 69, Luke Brown 69, Dylan Frittelli 69, Jean Hugo 69, Neil Schietekat 69, JJ Senekal 69, Ruan Conradie 69, Fredrik From 69, Warwick Purchase 69, Stefan Wears-Taylor 69, Dayne Moore 69, Jaco Van Zyl 69, Jacques P de Villiers 69, Austin Bautista 69, Marcus Sandile Taylor 69, Stals Swart 69, Luke Mayo 69
70 - James Mack 70, Jordan Burnand 70, Ruan de Smidt 70, Dylan Mostert 70, Pieter Moolman 70, Heinrich Bruiners 70, Keagan Thomas 70, Jbe Kruger 70, Jason Roets 70, Hennie O'Kennedy 70, Rhys West 70, Kieran Vincent 70, Franklin Manchest 70, Gregory Mckay 70, Rowan Lester 70, Jaco Prinsloo 70, Siyanda Mwandla 70
71 - Hennie Otto 71, Rupert Kaminski 71, Nikhil Rama 71, Estiaan Conradie 71, Ricky Hendler 71, Luca Filippi 71, Tyran Snyders 71, Jordan Duminy 71, Tyrone Ryan 71, Sean Cronje 71, Liam Grehan 71, Eric Wowor 71, Pierre Viallaneix 71
72 - Lyle Rowe 72, Stephen Ferreira 72, George Coetzee 72, Jake Redman 72, Christiaan Burke 72, MJ Viljoen 72, Martin Rohwer 72, Pierre Pellegrin 72, Trevor Mahoney 72, Anthony Michael 72, Keegan Mclachlan 72, Jean-Paul Strydom 72, CJ du Plessis 72, Luke Jerling 72, Doug McGuigan 72
73 - Matthew Spacey 73, Robson Chinhoi 73, Albert Venter 73, Nick Cunningham 73, Otto Van Buynder 73, Jacquin Hess 73, Allister de Kock 73, Thabiso Ngcobo 73
74 - Joe Long 74, Kyle McClatchie 74, Stuart Krog 74, Altin van der Merwe 74, Herman Loubser 74, Thanda Mavundla 74, Sentanio Minnie 74, Christian Kriek 74, Danie Van Niekerk 74, Toto Thimba Jnr 74
75 - Louis Albertse 75, Kyle Barker 75, Madalitso Muthiya 75, Paul Boshoff 75, Wynand Dingle 75, Karabo Mokoena 75, Jastice Mashego 75, Mandla Dlamini Jnr 75
76 - Umar Davids 76, Kayle Wykes 76
77 - Werner Deyzel 77, Tristin Galant 77
78 - Dylan O'Leary 78, Christiaan Basson 78, Callum Mowat 78
79 - Merrick Bremner 79