Darren Fichardt took advantage of ideal playing conditions at Kingsbarns Golf Links on the opening day of the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, firing a stunning 61 to lead a star-studded field by a single shot.
The 49-year-old South African shone on the greens as he carded two eagles, nine birdies and two bogeys to reach 11 under par.
After starting from the tenth tee and turning in 31, Fichardt made an eagle and four birdies in the first seven holes of his back nine to get the crowds on the Scottish coast excited about the prospect of a 59.
But those hopes were dashed by a bogey at the short eighth before a successful 12-foot birdie putt on the ninth saw him finish on a high.
Fichardt, who tied his lowest DP World Tour round on Thursday, sits a single shot clear of nearest challenger Cameron John, who shot a 62 at Kingsbarns.
Home favourite Scott Jamieson, New Zealand's Daniel Hillier - playing at the Old Course at St Andrews - and England's Andrew Wilson, who made a hole-in-one at the eighth at Kingsbarns in his spotless 63, were in a tie for third on nine under.
Fichardt began the tournament - which sees professional golfers and celebrities play across three world-class courses - with a birdie at the tenth before giving the shot straight back on the 11th.
He bounced back in style, though, notching an eagle on the long 12th before making three more birdies on his way to the turn.
A long, curling birdie at the second saw Fichardt earn a share of the lead before an eagle from around 12 feet moved him two shots clear of the chasing pack.
The five-time DP World Tour champion then followed that up with a 20-foot birdie putt to reach nine under par.
An amazing tee-shot at the par-four sixth led to a tap-in birdie there, and he made it back-to-back gains with another fine putt on the seventh.
With a par-three and a par-five still to come, Fichardt's chances of breaking 60 were getting better by the minute but he gave himself work to do with his tee-shot on the eighth and failed to save par.
He bounced back at the ninth, though, slotting in his tricky birdie putt to get to 11 under.
Fichardt was delighted with his day's work, saying: "That was good. That was sweet. I started with a birdie on my first hole, the tenth hole, and then I hit a really poor three-putt the next hole.
"I was like 'oh my goodness, it's going to be a grind today', and then made like a 100-foot putt for eagle on the next hole, and then the train just kept on going.
"It was really, really nice for everything just to fall like that."
The South African admitted he allowed himself to think about getting to 59, adding: "I started thinking to myself, 'is this a par 73 or 72?'. Because I know Gracey (Branden Grace) shot 60 the one year.
"I was trying to figure out what the par was, but I just kept on going and trying to do what I was doing. Yeah, that would have been nice, a little 59 on this track."
