Sunshine Tour Order of Merit leader Oliver Bekker flexed his muscles to grab a share of the first round lead at the Sun Sibaya Challenge at Mount Edgecombe.
Bekker, who has already won three times this season, produced a flawless nine-under 63 round on Wednesday -just another show of good form coupled with the confidence that comes from a stellar season. Starting from the 10th, Bekker made his intentions clear with back-to-back birdies that were followed by a par. He followed that up with another birdie and four straight pars before an eagle found its way to his scorecard on 18, his nine.
Playing that well requires some confidence, which Bekker has plenty of, not least because he was runner-up to Karmis here last year. ‘I like coming to Mount Edgecombe. I have been here three times and I have finished well every time. I like to play both courses here. I enjoy coming out here and it shows in the way I am playing.’
Despite the positive returns of the past years on this course, and Wednesday’s opening round, Bekker will not let complacency creep in. ‘They say you can’t win a tournament in the first round, but you can lose it in the first round,’ he said. ‘I have put myself in a good position after my first round. If I keep doing what I have done, I’m sure I will be up there come Friday.’
Joining Bekker at the top, is Herman Loubser, who seems to have rediscovered the form that saw him win Qualifying School earlier in the year.
He made four birdies without a blemish on his front nine to turn in 32, and that set him up for a perfect homeward nine. He didn’t relent there as he made five more birdies to take the early lead, and after that round he was the first to admit to his recent poor form.
‘I’m very happy,’ Loubser said. ‘You know, these past two tournaments I got off to a slow start. So, it’s good to finally put a good score on the board. I’m feeling good for tomorrow.’
While he didn’t falter on Wednesday, the 18-year old professional who plays out of Theewaterskloof Golf Club will aim for the same magical performance in the following rounds if he hopes to win this week. And knowing that there are serial winners like Bekker and Peter Karmis, among others who want to win this R750 000 event, should inspire him further.
Keeping the chase alive are Adilson Da Silva, Tyrone Ferreira, Colin Nel and the defending Karmis, who all shot 65s. Just behind them on six-under 66 lurk Anthony Michael and Alex Haindl, and they are closely followed by six others on five-under-par 67.
While the opening round produced some low scores, rains and strong winds are expected for the two remaining rounds and the players will surely be tested.
First round leaderboard:
63 – Herman Loubser, Oliver Bekker
65 – Peter Karmis, Tyrone Ferreira, Adilson Da Silva, Colin Nel
66 – Anthony Michael, Alex Haindl
67 – Keith Horne, Matias Calderon, Jared Harvey, Jonathan Agren, Justin Harding, Chris Cannon
68 – Jean-Paul Strydom, Vaughn Groenewald, Charl Coetzee, Irvin Mazibuko, Jaco Prinsloo, Neil Schietekat, Louis de Jager
69 – Jacquin Hess, Ryan Cairns, Jake Roos, Cody Martin, Warren Abery, Martin Rominger, Morne Buys, Lindani Ndwandwe, Ulrich van den Berg, Jean Hugo, Tyrone Ryan, Daniel Greene, Marc Cayeux
70 – Matthew Spacey, Greg Bentley, Stephen Ferreira, Coert Groenewald, Bryandrew Roelofsz, Matthew Carvell, Keenan Davidse, Jeff Inglis, Jason Froneman, Allan Versfeld, JC Ritchie, JJ Senekal, Andre Nel, Dongkwan Kim, Allister de Kock, Gert Myburgh
71 – William Weidner, Aubrey Beckley, Scott Campbell, Stuart Smith, Wallie Coetsee, Rourke van der Spuy, Christiaan Basson, Sean Bradley, Francois Coetzee, Rhys West, Michael Palmer, Jason Diab, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu
72 – Jaco Mouton, Jason Viljoen, Ryan Tipping, Michael Hollick, MJ Viljoen, Andrew Georgiou, Thriston Lawrence, Kevin Stone, Jacques Blaauw, Omar Sandys, Stefan Engell Andersen, Divan Gerber
73 – Callum Mowat, Doug McGuigan, Titch Moore, Steven Ferreira, Neil O’Briain, CJ du Plessis, Bryce Easton, Gerard du Plooy
74 – Combrinck Smit, Desne Van Den Bergh, Lyle Rowe, Makhetha Mazibuko, Antonio Rosado, Wynand Dingle, Quintin Wilsnach, Dayne Moore, Bryce Bibby
75 – Eugen Marugi, Andrew van der Knaap, Cameron Esau, Danie Van Niekerk, Dwayne Basson
76 – Nisharlan Sewshanker, N.J. Arnoldi, Thanda Mavundla, Bradford Vaughan, Martin Rohwer, Leorin Pillay
77 – Teaghan Gauche, James Kamte, Andrew Curlewis, Daniel Hammond, Jason Smith, Jake Redman, PH McIntyre
78 – Gerrit Foster
79 – Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Ockie Strydom
80 – Mohit Mediratta
81 – Altaaf Bux
82 – Johan van der Wath, Chris Swanepoel
86 – Shane Granger
RTD – Luke Jerling
Photo: Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images
