A remarkable finish saw Morten Ørum Madsen grab the clubhouse lead midway through the opening round of the Tshwane Open.
The Dane, who was third in last week’s Africa Open and also claimed his maiden European Tour title on South African soil, was three under through 16 holes at Pretoria Club.
However, the 26 year old then aced the 135 yard eighth and eagled the par five ninth – his last – to post a seven under par 63.
That was one ahead of home favourite Wallie Coetsee, a runner-up in the recent Joburg Open, with France’s Raphaël Jacquelin a shot further back in third.
Having started on the back nine and turned in a two under 33, Madsen holed a 30 footer at the first and responded to his only bogey of the day at the fourth with another gain at the sixth.
The former South African Open winner then spun his wedge to the eighth back into the hole for the 20th ace on The European Tour this season, and closed out his day in style with an eagle from 12 feet at the ninth.
“The last couple of weeks I’ve been hitting some shots really close and I actually said to my caddy last week that a hole in one is on the cards pretty soon,” said Madsen.
“When your standing on the next tee your pretty confident and I hit a really nice drive and a great three iron second shot. It’s something you don’t expect but you dream about.
“I’ve found something in my game that’s working and I’ve been pretty consistent – the back nine I played really well and made a few which was good.”
The highlight of Coetsee’s 64 came when he pitched in for eagle at the 12th, and he chipped in again at the 17th for one of five birdies.
“Today was special,” said Coetsee. “Things went my way but I’m doing something right. These three weeks have been very special.
Last week’s winner Trevor Fisher Jnr was in contention after a four under 66, while Andy Sullivan – looking for a third title on South African soil this season – shot a one over 71.
