IRENE, Tshwane – Wynand Dingle says his game is not yet 100% technically sound, but the 38-year-old still has the recipe for success as he took advantage of the receptive greens at the Irene Country Club and shot a seven-under-par 65 on Thursday to share the lead after the first round of the KitKat Cash & Carry Pro-Am.
Dingle fired four birdies on each nine, following a bogey on the fourth hole he played, the 168m, par-three 13th with its menacing bunker in front of the green.
Young Jovan Rebula was in the same three-ball that teed off at 7am on Thursday, and he matched Dingle with seven birdies and no bogeys on his card.
Dingle and Rebula enjoy a one-stroke lead over Louis Albertse and Englishman Jack Hawksby, who eagled the par-four first hole, his 10th, to go with six birdies, but also had a couple of bogeys.
Seven-under 65 was a superb score on Thursday, but Dingle was not entirely satisfied.
“I didn’t have such a good start, it was cold in the morning and tough to get the body going and the ball didn’t go that far. And then I bogeyed my fourth hole,” Dingle said.
“But I got three birdies in a row straight afterwards and that kick-started my round, with another on 18 and then another three-in-a-row from the first. The greens are receptive and rolling nicely, you really can’t fault the course.
“One of my concerns though is my consistency is lacking a little bit. I need to get four rounds together and especially have better rounds on the weekend. Technically I’m not 100%, so when I’m under the gun I lose it a bit. It’s because technically I’m not totally sound.
“There are a few things bugging me in my swing and if I can correct those then it will stand up under pressure. But it’s not mental, it’s a technical thing,” Dingle said.
It was another fine day in the office for the in-form Neil Schietekat, who is top of The Courier Guy Order of Merit, as he shot a five-under 67 to share fifth place with Trevor Fisher Jnr.
Schietekat started slowly, reaching the turn at just one-under, but he then gathered four birdies on the back nine.
Fisher Jnr began on the 10th and had a poor bogey-bogey start, but he played his last 13 holes in seven-under-par.
It was a tough day for Zimbabwe’s Robson Chinhoi, the winner of last weekend’s Zanaco Masters in Zambia, as he shot a four-over 76.
