Justin Harding enjoyed a spectacular start to his Masters tournament career as the debutant put himself right in the mix on day one at Augusta National Golf Club.
READ: Saffa report from round one
An opening 69 from Harding had him at 3-under and it could have been even better had he not dropped a shot on the last.
It was just 12 months ago that Harding missed the cut at the Zanaco Masters on the Sunshine Tour, and found himself at 422nd on the Official World Golf Rankings.
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The South African started the 2019 Race to Dubai without full playing privileges, but his victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters was one of five worldwide wins in ten months, and he now finds himself 49th in the world and at the season’s first Major Championship.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed it,’ he said. ‘I handled the emotions of the day quite well, better than expected and just kind of worked my way in.
‘I’ll take it and run if I can – we’re not allowed to run here at Augusta – but I’m pleased. It’s one of those where I gave myself a couple of chances, I didn’t feel like I took great advantage of the par-fives.
‘I’m still learning and this golf course is difficult.
‘It’s pretty much how I’ve been playing for the last, let’s call it 15 months, I’m seeing the golf course for the first time almost every week. So I’m not taking any real demons, any bad shots or any bad memories into them, I suppose.
‘But then again, I also watched the Masters a few times on TV, so you see where everybody hits up to.’
Credit: European Tour
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
