Julian Suri is hopeful his opening 65 at the Tshwane Open can kickstart his 2018 European Tour campaign after a long winter break.
The American finished second at the UBS Hong Kong Open in November - his fourth top ten in five events - but is playing for just the third time this season at Pretoria Country Club.
He failed to make the weekend at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters but will play a third event in a row at next week's Hero Indian Open and is looking to build some momentum heading into the rest of the year.
"I’m happy with the round," he said. "Lots of good signs - a sign of things to come hopefully.
"I putted really solidly today. I’ve been working a lot on it and it’s been pretty good as of late.
"I’ve been working on my swing the last couple of days since I missed the cut last week in Qatar. Actually, in the last two-and-a-half days or so, I haven’t really practised any chipping or putting. I’ve just been grinding on the range with my caddie and it’s paid off. I’m pretty pleased with the way it’s progressed.
Lots of good signs - a sign of things to come hopefully - Julian Suri
"There are plenty of birdies out there. The greens are so soft and they’re rolling pretty good. If you hit good putts, they should be going in.
"I hit a lot of drivers. I played really aggressively which is kind of my style. Subsequently, I had a lot of wedges in and I took advantage of a lot of them."
Thomas Aiken also hit a 65 to sit just a shot behind round one leader Louis de Jager in Waterkloof.
The South African has made just two of seven cuts so far this season and was delighted to find some form to tell his wife and daughter about when he sees them next week.
"I was looking forward to having some fun on the golf course and hitting some good golf shots but it’s been a tough few months," he said.
"I’m happy that I can do it here at home as well. There’s a lot of people that come out to support us and hopefully we can put on a good show at the weekend for them.
"Katie and Lilly are a long way away but I’m sure they’re up watching on the internet. I’m going to see them next week for a few weeks, which will be nice. I miss them like crazy but they’re always there supporting me.
"I’m very happy with the way I started. I hit some really good golf shots, especially on my front nine, which was the back.
"I started with a bogey but I managed to make five birdies in a row. I hit pretty much all of them stiff so I was very pleased with the way I started and really hung together in the last nine holes."
Felipe Aguilar lost his card for the first time in a decade last season but regained it at Qualifying School and fired his best round since to also share second.
"It was a very nice round," he said. "I wasn’t in much trouble today except for one green that I missed on the second hole and I ended up with a bogey.
"Besides that I played quite a consistent round. I wasn’t very aggressive. I tried to go for some pins when I could. Some of them were quite difficult if you missed them on the wrong side. Overall, it was a pretty good round."
