JJ Senekal posted a ten under par round of 62 to take the lead after round one of the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa.
The South African made the turn at four under before adding four further birdies and an eagle on the home stretch to move two clear of countryman Martin Vorster, who sits in second place on eight under.
The 35-year-old has been trending in the right direction of late, finishing in a tie for sixth at last week’s Dimension Data Pro-Am, and is now looking to build on his impressive start to the 2023 Road to Mallorca.
“It was a hot start and it felt good to go low today,” he said. “The two eagles surprised me, but I hit two great iron shots and then rolled in two good putts. The low scores are out there because you can take on the flags with the soft greens this week.
“I have been shooting good scores recently and I felt comfortable heading into the week. I changed my coach at the start of the last year and have been focusing on my rotation. The past three months my swing has felt great, and I knew my game was in a good place.”
The two-time Sunshine Tour winner, who finished seventh at the 2022 SDC Open, is feeling confident ahead of the second round and believes the tree-lined fairways at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa suit his strategic approach off the tee.
“I’ve got good memories here because I played well last year,” he said. “It suits my eye because I like tree-lined golf courses and it forces me to be straight off the tee.
“You have to keep it in play off the tee on this golf course. If you stay patient, then you can make a lot of birdies. I’m going to hit some balls now before I relax this afternoon. I need to mentally reset tomorrow and hopefully feed off what I did today and look to do the same again.”
Spaniards Victor Garcia Broto and Victor Pastor share third place on seven under par with South African Herman Loubser, while 11 players share sixth on five under including seven-time DP World Tour winner Alvaro Quiros and Englishman Alfie Plant.
The second round will get under way at 6:30am local time, with Senekal teeing it up alongside England’s Ashley Chesters and Sweden’s Henric Sturehed at 11:50am.
