Danny Willett was full of admiration for playing partner Henrik Stenson after watching the Swede battle his way to the lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Defending champion Willett was playing alongside Stenson and fired a 67 to sit a shot behind the 39 year old and Jaco Van Zyl at the top of the leaderboard.
But that does not tell the full story, with the 2013 Race to Dubai champion admitting his chances of playing earlier in the week had been just five per cent due to a bout of flu.
He revealed his "legs were like jelly" towards the end of his opening round and Willett believes Stenson will take some beating if he can maintain that sort of form when not fully fit.
"I don't think he can be ill!" he joked. "He played brilliantly. He didn't miss many shots. I think he got very tired towards the end there but he played tremendous golf.
Looking at that, you've got to think that if you can stay close to him over the next few days you'll be doing well - Danny Willett on Henrik Stenson
The Englishman was bogey-free in his own round and, despite admitting to some nerves as he got his season under way, he was happy with his effort.
"It was really solid," he said. "I played really well in the pro-am on Tuesday and played another seven holes in practice yesterday on my own trying to get a feel for the golf course again and everything is in good shape.
"Because it's at the same golf course, people expect you to play well again, but everyone knows how fickle this game can be. The course does set up well for me but that doesn't mean you're going to shoot 67 every time you play it. Visually it does make things easier, though.
"I played well in the Final Series, just didn't quite get it done. I had a couple of days off and then tried to get the good feelings going again and it's been nice. I played well in practice, but it was good to get the first round under my belt. There were a few nerves, so I couldn't be happier with my first round score."
Marc Leishman was in the first group out of the day and set the early target with a 68 that left him two shots off the lead. The Australian overcame a shaky start as he put his tee shot on the first next to a cart path but was delighted with his recovery.
"I'm very happy," he said. "It's a course where if you play well you can make lots of birdies, but if you're not on your game you can make some bogeys pretty quickly. So to go bogey-free was really pleasing and it was a very solid start.
"I was right up against the path for my second shot on the first and if I'd taken a drop I would have had a tree in my line, so I thought I'd take my chances and I hit a good shot. I couldn't finish it off with the putt, but it was fun. I prefer to be on the fairway, but when you do that it's nice to hit a good shot."
Branden Grace also signed for a 68 with a failure to get up and down on the 17th bringing his only bogey of the day, and the home favourite was happy to get off to a good start.
"It was very solid from start to finish," he said.
Stepping onto the first tee it was the loudest applause I've ever got, which was amazing, so all in all it was a great day - Branden Grace
"I was here a couple of years ago and I think the golf course is better this time around. It's in great shape. With the drought that's been going on, they've got the course in magnificent condition. You still have to hit it well but if you can stay away from the thick spots of rough out there you're going to do alright.
"I thought I left a couple out there which is a pity, but it's still a good round. You don't want to fall too far behind after the first day. I'm in the mix and not too far back."
