Haydn Porteous will remember his first start in a WGC event fondly after a birdie-laden round of 66 thrust him into the spotlight in China, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm may have been the feature group for the WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International GC, but it was Porteous who grabbed a fair share of television coverage on day one of the event where the winner will walk away with almost €1.4-million and a healthy Race to Dubai boost.
Porteous, one of 18 WGC rookies in the field, played his way into the field by winning the D+D REAL Czech Masters, and made the most of his opportunity with two birdies in his opening three holes on Thursday. Playing in a low-key grouping, Porteous made a bogey four on the fourth, but proved his worth with three birdies in his next four holes before closing with his second drop of the day on the long par-4 ninth hole for an outward 33.
‘I wasn’t in until a week, two weeks ago, and when I came out here the plan was to expect nothing and take everything,’ said Porteous.
‘Just go out there and free it up and a few putts went in. Found a really good golf swing for the week and hopefully I can carry on with the same sort of form. I made a few really good putts out there, especially the knee-wobblers from five foot and in, which was pretty solid. Kept the momentum going with some good par saves and made the birdies that I needed to make, especially on the par fives.
‘It’s a great week to be here and hopefully, I can carry on the next three rounds.’
The 23-year-old, who has dropped 15 places behind the top 60 in the Race to Dubai to tee it up at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, made birdies at 11 and 12 to get to five-under-par and near the top of the first page of the leaderboard, before a rare par on his card came at the 13th.
A double-bogey 7 on 14 could’ve easily sent Porteous spiralling, but instead, he responded in sublime fashion with three birdies in his final four holes, including a tap-in at the last after his chip lipped out for eagle, to finish on six-under-par for his efforts.
Porteous, who is in T4 alongside American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed, is the best-placed South African as he sits just two strokes behind US Open winner Brooks Koepka, who leads on -8. Unfortunately for South African interests, Porteous’ compatriots struggled to get anywhere near on a run that could match his birdie binge – which was one short of Ross Fisher’s tally at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship earlier in the month.
A closing birdie for SA’s highest-ranked player in the field this week, Charl Schwartzel, was not enough to get him back to level-par for the day after a double at the 17th – his second of the day after double dropping the ninth. Schwartzel sits on +1 alongside Richard Sterne, who bogeyed the fourth to go with 17 pars in his opening round.
Branden Grace went out in 39 and then joined Porteous as a victim at the 14th with a double in a forgettable round which was sweetened just a little by two birdies in his final three holes. Grace is +2 and has a mountain to climb if he wants to be a late start on Sunday as he sits in T67.
In a share for last place is Brandon Stone, who, like England’s Ross Fisher, struggled all day and limped into the clubhouse with a six-over-par 78 in the no-cut event.
As for the feature group of defending champion Matsuyama, Johnson and Rahm – it is the world No 1 that leads their mini-battle on four-under-par, with Rahm’s topsy-turvy day ending on a level-par 72, two better than Matsuyama, who made two birdies on his 16th and 17th holes before a final bogey undid his recovery job.
