Adam Blommé posted a nine under par opening round of 63 to claim the lead after round one of the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship at Humewood Golf Club.
The Swede carded an eagle, eight birdies and a single bogey as he moved to the top of the leaderboard, one clear of South African Pieter Moolman who is second on eight under par.
The 26-year-old, who currently sits in pole position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, was delighted to take advantage of the benign early morning conditions in Port Elizabeth.
“I got lucky with my tee time this morning,” he said. “There was hardly any wind through my front nine and then it started to pick up as I finished.
“It felt great to continue my good form today and it was nice to make a few putts too. I tried to keep the ball in play, hit the greens and then hopefully hole some putts.”
Blommé has made an impressive start to the 2023 campaign with two top ten finishes in his last two starts and he credited a change in his psychological approach for his recent success.
“On 17 I hit my drive really hard and left myself with a nice approach in,” he said. “Luckily I hit it close and left myself a short putt.
“I’ve been trying to focus on some technical areas of my game but also remain in the right state of mind. It’s important to have fun out there and enjoy my golf.”
Frenchman Ugo Coussaud, Scotland’s Craig Howie, Swede Henric Sturehed, Englishman Jack Singh Brar and South African Anthony Michael share third on seven under par, while 13 players are a shot further back in eighth including South African Casey Jarvis and Irishman Ruaidhri McGee.
The second round will get under way at 6:30am local time, with Blommé teeing it up alongside Jarvis and Irishman Conor Purcell at 12:10pm.
