Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Erik Van Rooyen and Justin Walters lead the South African pursuit of leaders Grégory Havret, Eddie Pepperell and Aaron Rai at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The leading trio made the most of calm conditions to share the first-round lead on -7.
Doha Golf Club is known for its windy conditions and while the breeze did pick up slightly in the afternoon – with the first rainfall in Qatar since March – the morning was perfectly calm and the leading trio all took advantage.
England’s Oliver Fisher, Italian Edoardo Molinari, Spaniard Alvaro Quiros and German Marcel Schneider were then a shot off the lead.
Bezuidenhout, Van Rooyen and Walters are -4 even if the latter pair were some of last players on the course and dealing with the worst of the conditions.
Bezuidenhout, who started well last week in Oman, began with a bogey turned level thanks to a birdie on the ninth and then finished with three birdies in his last five holes to get to -4 and into a share of 15th. It took most of the day for any one of his 10 countryman in the field to join him and then when it happened, it was two.
Van Rooyen turned 28 yesterday and celebrated with a chip-in eagle on 16 to get to -4. A drop near the turn and another drop just after, slowed his momentum just a touch.
Q School graduate Walters, playing the back nine first, went out in 32 – he matched Van Rooyen’s eagle on 16 – but couldn’t see him make further inroads after a birdie on the 10th was followed up with a drop on the next hole before finishing with seven pars in the trying conditions.
Haydn Porteous and George Coetzee finished one shot behind the Saffa trio with another Q School graduate Jacques Kruswijk on -2 after round one.
Brandon Stone was in 77th place after an opening 71 with Thomas Aiken finishing level alongside Richard Sterne. Darren Fichardt shot 73 and Zander Lombard slipped to a 76.
