GEORGE, Western Cape – Jacques Blaauw beat the weather and the fading light to post an impressive nine-under-par 63 for the clubhouse lead on a difficult opening day of the NTT DATA Pro-Am at Fancourt on Thursday.
Heavy rain forced a lengthy suspension of the first round of this Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour co-sanctioned tournament and resulted in two restarts as the three golf courses of The Links, Montagu and Outeniqua recovered from the downpour.
When an overcast first day drew to a close, Blaauw had just made it into the clubhouse with his bogey-free round on the Outeniqua. He leads by two shots over Denmark’s Christoffer Bring, who signed for a 65. England’s Eddie Pepperell and South Africa’s JC Ritchie are also on seven under but still busy with their first rounds.
The first round will have to be completed on Friday morning, with the second round tee times adjusted accordingly.
Blaauw was delighted with his performance in the testing conditions.
“It was a tough morning with the weather, and frustrating. But I’m happy that we could eventually get out there and I was able to make a good score,” said the South African, who added that he had to reset mentally for the challenge ahead.
“It’s difficult because you’re hungry but don’t want to eat because your prep is normally different. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, but in the end it worked out. I could take advantage of the soft greens and make a few birdies. I was pretty good overall through my game.”
As his nearest challenger, Bring was also all smiles on a grey day.
“I had to warm up three times but it was a great day for me. We had to come in after a couple of holes, but when we went back out there wasn’t much wind and the greens were soft which meant I could make lot of birdies. I just tried to stick to my routine and reset mentally. I hit lots of greens and felt in control of my game,” he said. – Michael Vlismas
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