What we learned from the first round of the BMW SA Open at Glendower, according to WADE PRETORIUS.
Hype is one thing
Heading into this week, Branden Grace was the favourite and rightly so. He is the top-ranked player in the field, he does well on home soil like he proved at the 2017 Nedbank Golf Challenge and is keen to claim this title that has so far eluded him. Starting in the afternoon, he knew what he had to do score-wise but shooting 65 doesn’t just happen. Neither does producing three eagles in a single round. Hype is one thing but playing the way he did today shows that Grace is ready to end the run of foreign winners of our national championship.
Something is brewing
The tournament organizers must be well pleased with themselves. Chase Koepka is tied with Branden Grace – both have unique angles to tell. Koepka is the younger brother of the 2017 US Open and of course, Grace is the local favourite. But Charl Schwartzel (69) fought his way back into it with four birdies in a row to start his back nine and Joburg Open runner-up Erik Van Rooyen and Richard are two back while web.com player Jacques Blaauw one further back. Also in the mix are England’s Chris Paisley, Scotland’s Bradley Neil and Spain’s Nacho Elvira. There’s something for everyone and that’s exactly the way it should be.
If you are good enough, you are young enough
The South African amateurs made the most of their opportunity on Thursday with Kyle McClatchie and Garrick Higgo the pick of the bunch. Both are at four under, three back with two very different rounds. Higgo was bogey free while McClatchie needed plenty of birdies with three drops on his card. They are just two examples that represent a bright future for golf in the country and their efforts on Thursday were refreshing when you consider that a player of Trevor Immelman’s pedigree shot 79.
Take it while you can
The scoring may have been a bit deceptive out there today. Both the early and late starters did well with the lack of wind and true putting surfaces making for good scoring. However, there were big numbers out there with both co-leaders making two bogeys a piece. Charl Schwartzel told me that a 64, or even a 63 is possible but he also said you have to remain patient because there are places on this course where it will rip your card apart. Today was certainly a good day for scoring and whoever gets the best of tomorrow’s conditions would do well to take the birdies where they come because bogeys are out there.
Shot of the day
Over to you Jamie Donaldson …
1️⃣! #BMWSAOpen gets its first ace as Donaldson perfects the 14th at @GlendowerGC. pic.twitter.com/QsbULkdzNF
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) January 11, 2018
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