Astin Arthur produced an almost perfect final six holes on Tuesday in the first round of the GolfRSA International Amateur Championship played on the Royal Johannesburg East Course as he carded a superb seven-under 65 to take the 18-hole lead.
Arthur, who turned 21 on 15 January, took on the intimidating championship layout rated one of the toughest tests in the country with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran, and racked up five birdies on his way in from the 13th hole.
He’s been South Africa’s No 1 since April last year, and his back nine of six-under 30 put him well clear of his pursuers to underline that status.
Teammate Jordan Burnand and Frenchman Octave Bailo shared second three strokes back on five under par.
“I drove the ball well all day,” said Arthur, “but I was hitting it close from 150 out, particularly on the back nine, and that gave me all those opportunities for birdies.
“I don’t think my putting was especially good, because my proximity to the hole was pretty good, and that left me so quite easy putts. And when I was far from the hole, I lagged the ball well, and didn’t leave myself too much work in tidying up.”
His good driving was underlined by a near eagle on the 354m par-four 17th after landing on the dance floor from the tee.
“I got a good bounce on the drive, I will confess,” he said. “I gave the putt a good chance and it went about four feet by. I was able to make the return putt to keep the good streak on the stretch going.”
The Mount Edgecombe golfer is fairly familiar with the Royal Johannesburg East Course and used that knowledge to his advantage.
“I’ve played it a few times, but my coach knows it well, and I’ve been able to work out lines to use, where to miss, and all of that sort of thing,” he said. “It’s a challenging course, but because I was driving it well, and the fairways are not so hard after the rain, I was able to take advantage of that.”
Although he is relatively new to the international scene, he picked up his first international win in the MCB Indian Ocean Open in Mauritius in July last year when he defeated French professional and local favourite Pierre Pellegrin on the first play-off hole after the pair tied on two-under 214 at Anahita Golf Club.
He tied for third in his debut for South Africa in the All Africa Team Championship in Zimbabwe, helping Team South Africa to victory and combined with Burnand for a fourth-place finish in the prestigious Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup in Argentina.
“I am finding my feet still in the team aspect of things,” he said, “but we’ve got a great bunch of guys, and I enjoy it a lot.”
Together with Burnand, Dian Kruger and Ivan Verster (whose two-over 74 did not count for the first round), Team South Africa pulled comfortably clear of their Team South Africa Junior counterparts which included Bryan Newman and new caps Johndre Ludick, Dewan de Bruin and Roelof Craig.
Astin and company were a combined 12 under thanks to his seven under, Burnand’s four under and Kruger’s one under.
The GolfRSA President team with Devon Valentine, Timothy Daniels, Vuyisani Makama and Mitch Phigeland were in third on one over, Team Scotland was on two over and Team Reunion were fifth on 14 over.
In the women’s section, South Africa’s Lisa Coetzer made two birdies in her final three holes to get within a shot of the lead. Up front, it was Reunion’s Melliyal Schmitt who was in the lead with her three-under-par 69 consisting of seven birdies and four bogeys.
Coetzer had to overcome a double-bogey on the 15th after she had dropped just a single shot up to there. She made three birdies on the front nine, and the bogey came on the 10th. After the double, she bounced back with birdies on 16 and 18 for her two-under-par 70.
Lourenda Steyn and Olivia Wood shared third on one-under 71, while Casey Twidale and Bobbi Brown were on level-par in a share of fifth.
In the women’s team contest, Team South Africa with Coetzer, Kesha Louw and Zane Kleyhans, whose score of nine-over 81 didn’t count for the first round, were in the lead at level-par after Louw carded a two-over 74.
They were one clear of Reunion, while the GolfRSA President team of Odette Booysen, Kamaya Moodliar and Phenyo Sebata was on 10 under in third place.
Photo: GolfRSA
