A four-way tie at the top, a rare left-handed sighting and huge eagles land in an entertaining first day of the 2023 Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Here is everything you need to know from Thursday at Gary Player Country Club.
Bradbury's brilliant eagle bonus
Bradbury burst into co-leadership thanks to this huge 75ft eagle putt at the ninth - his last - to join Højgaard at the top of the leaderboard. They were later joined by Norrman and Homa at six under par. Bradbury said: "The eagle was a pretty tight drive, I knew if I hit a good one I could cover the bunker on the right, so just aim at it, let the wind bring it in - perfect. I had 260 (to the) pin, but obviously we weren't looking anywhere near that flag, just trying to get it on (the green) and two putt to be totally honest, and then 75 feet, I had on my stats so that's a nice bonus."
Left-handed Thomas
Justin Thomas is making his debut in Sun City and despite the spectacular array of wildlife on offer at Gary Player Country Club, the American offered something even more rare - a left-handed shot.
A rare left-handed @JustinThomas34 👀#NGC2023 pic.twitter.com/d5mrk9rnBe
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 9, 2023
Max at Home-a in South Africa
Another U.S. Ryder Cup Team star to make his debut in South Africa is Max Homa. A flawless card of 66 propelled him into a four-way share of the lead due to brilliant shots like this.
Come for the world class @Maxhoma shot, stay for the slow mo 🤩#NGC2023 pic.twitter.com/ZFeehq7mJM
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 9, 2023
Rasmus goes all chips in
The Højgaard twins are supremely talented with Nicolai sharing the four-way lead after day one, but his Rasmus is not far behind. He sits three adrift of his brother in a tie for 14th thanks to wedge play like this.
Twin brother Rasmus Højgaard isn't messing around either 👀#NGC2023 https://t.co/zLcaKxnsHx pic.twitter.com/ukhWDIgoSe
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 9, 2023
Cool and calm Norrman bursts into contention
Vincent Norrman is the fourth member of the leading group after carding a blemish-free 66. The Swede is in a rich vein of form after sealing his first two DP World Tour titles in the last four months before his brilliant opening round in Sun City. He said: "It was a lot of fun out there. It got pretty hot, but really enjoyed this place." On his strong recent form, he added: "I don't know, finally pieces are building together, it's been a good run and I seem to enjoy Europe a lot. I'm quite a calm guy and I enjoy playing golf."