Ryan Fox gave his chances of catching Rory McIlroy at the top of the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex a big boost as he fired a stunning 64 to lead the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge by one shot after the opening round.
After carding two birdies and a bogey on the front nine, Fox fired an eagle and five birdies after the turn to get to eight under par and move one stroke ahead of European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald.
New Zealand's Fox began the week second on the DP World Tour Rankings, having already claimed two victories in a stellar 2022 season.
If he can add another win to his tally at Gary Player Country Club on Sunday, Fox will overtake leader McIlroy ahead of the season finale in Dubai next week.
And he gave himself a perfect platform to do just that, closing with back-to-back birdies on Thursday to set the pace.
Donald sits alone in second place after notching seven birdies in a flawless 65, with Guido Migliozzi two shots further back after his bogey-free 67.
Fox picked up his first birdie of the day at the par-five second but gave the shot straight back at the third before pulling off impressive par saves on the fifth and seventh.
He then reeled off a hat-trick of birdies at the ninth, tenth and 11th before another gain on the 13th earned him a share of the lead.
A huge drive at the par-five 14th allowed Fox to find the green in two, and he slotted home his eagle putt from five feet to take the outright lead on six under.
Fox continued to create chances and birdied the 17th and 18th to head into the second round with the outright lead.
He was thrilled with his score after 18 holes, saying: "I couldn’t have wished for a better start.
"I figure if you can get to double digits under par around here for the most part you’re going to be pretty close come Sunday.
"To be most of the way there after the first round is pretty nice.
"This is a hard golf course to keep your foot on the gas. It’s going to come back and bite you at some point.
"The 14th is probably the toughest tee-shot, I just teed it down, hit a little fade. I had a good number to the front of the green with a seven iron, adjusted as we had 180 metres downwind and I can usually get seven iron there.
"I just thought, 'if I smash seven and get to the front, great', and I got a little further than that.
"Standing on that tee, you would probably take five for the most part and to make three certainly helps."
Donald picked up shots at the fifth and ninth to turn in 34 before further birdies on the tenth, 11th, 15th, 17th and 18th catapulted him to seven under.
