Pieter Moolman finished with six consecutive birdies to lead the way after the first round of the 2024 D+D Real Czech Masters.
The South African shot 64, eight under par, to leave himself a shot clear of the field at PGA National OAKS Prague.
England’s Brandon Robinson Thompson, who won last week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by the R&A on the Challenge Tour, was part of a six-way tie for second with Swede Jesper Svensson, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, Sung Kang of South Korea and German pair Max Rottluff and Max Kieffer.
Moolman quickly cancelled out each of his opening two birdies but back-to-back gains around the turn gave some indication of what was to come.
Nothing could have truly prepared spectators for the finish to the world No 661’s round though, as he took advantage of the par-five 13th with an 11-foot putt and never looked back.
He holed from 36 feet at the next, put his approach at the 15th inside four feet and went close to eagle at the 16th, another par five, before settling for yet another birdie.
Moolman just held the 17th green before holing from 31 feet and an accurate approach at the last ensured it was six of the best, and an eight-under-par total.
“I expected the back nine to be the tougher nine, but you know, golf’s a funny game,” he said.
“I hit some good shots, but you’re not shooting 29 if you’re not making putts. The putter was definitely involved, but just staying patient and giving yourself chances.
“The front nine is a bit open, you can bomb it a bit. The back nine is the tougher one where you have to really hit some good shots, give yourself good opportunities.
“I think I’m one of the lucky ones, to tee off first. It’s not the first time, it’s not the last time. I’m pretty sure most golfers are used to it.”
Robinson Thompson would have shared the lead but for a wildly overhit bunker shot at the last, leading to a free drop from the hospitality tent and the only bogey of a seven-under-par round.
He earlier made three birdies in each half of his round, plus an eagle at the 9th after a 290-yard approach to five feet.
Svensson started on the back nine, playing it two under par in 34, and then birdied five of his last seven holes to lie one shot off the lead.
“I didn’t hole that many long putts but played nicely, played smart,” he said.
“There were a couple of tough pins which you get tempted to go for but if you’re on the wrong side, you’re going to have a very, very difficult up and down. So yeah, now it’s just a lot of patience.”
Rottluff was bogey-free as well, his five birdies augmented by a 34-foot putt for eagle at the 16th.
Kieffer and Ramsay were the leading challengers among the later starters, on a day delayed for 90 minutes by early-morning storms in Prague.
Each came up just short of the leading score after a bogey at his 16th hole – in Ramsay’s case the 7th, having started on the back nine and made eight birdies prior to that point.
Kieffer started with back-to-back birdies then eagled the 4th. He made three more gains before that solitary dropped shot, then birdied the last to share second place.
Kang surged into contention with a round featuring runs of four successive birdies on the back nine – his first having started at the 10th – and five in a row on the front nine. He also had three dropped shots on the way out but birdied the last to reach seven under.
The group at six under featured Frenchmen Julien Guerrier and Adrien Saddier, Spain’s Adri Arnaus, Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, German Jannik De Bruyn and England’s Sam Bairstow.
– Report from DP World Tour website
Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images
