Louis leads the charge
EARLY LEAD: WANTS TO BE 6TH GOLFER TO WIN TWO OLDEST GOLF TITLES
LOCAL HERO. Louis Oosthuizen lines up a putt during the SA Open at Randpark Golf Club yesterday. He leads by one shot after carding a nine-under-par 63 in his first round on the Bushwillow course.
Englishman Matt Wallace made a good start with a 65.
New European Tour sensation Kurt Kitayama said he wants to stay true to himself after shooting a course-record 63 on Randpark’s Firethorn layout to finish just one stroke behind early pace-setter and highest-ranked competitor Louis Oosthuizen after the first round of the South African Open yesterday.
“I am just playing well and I am just trying to continue that,” he said.
While a golfer of Oosthuizen’s quality was bound to take advantage of the Bushwillow course, firing a nine-under-par 62 that he described as “nice”, European Tour rookie Kitayama – playing in SA for the first time – continued the momentum from his victory in last weekend’s Mauritius Open with a tremendous bogey-free round that had four birdies on the front nine and an eagle and two birdies coming home.
“I putted well today even though I was mentally tired when I arrived in Johannesburg. There are more scoring opportunities on the other side but I’ll approach tomorrow the same as any other round: ‘Stay patient and see what happens’,” said Kitayama, an American who only gained his card three weeks ago.
Oosthuizen, looking to become just the sixth golfer to win both the oldest [British Open] and second-oldest [SA Open] national titles in golf, enjoyed a comfortable start to the tourney, beginning with a birdie, picking up two more shots on the front nine and then racing home in just 30 strokes.
“Anytime you shoot nine-under it feels nice, but it was one of those rounds where you don’t look at the score, you just play. I drove the ball really well and gave myself good opportunities to hit the ball really close, and then birdie after birdie just seemed to come,” Oosthuizen said.
“There’s still a long way to go, but now I can just focus on the Firethorn course for the next three rounds.”
While the rise of Kitayama is one of the features of the tour right now, Zambia’s Madalitso Muthiya shooting a 63 on Bush- willow was also one of the stories of the opening day, with the onetime Sunshine Tour winner going out in just 29 shots.
“I guess eight-under is a reflection of how well I played. It’s something to go forward with but I need to put four rounds together. I was very much in tune with what I was doing out there today,” the 35-year-old Muthiya said.
Rising star Zander Lombard claimed fourth place with a seven-under-par 64 on Firethorn, while Englishman Matt Wallace, second-highest on the world rankings behind Oosthuizen, made a good start with a 65.
Veteran Ernie Els showed he can still mix it with the youngsters with a 66, the same score as Branden Grace, who said he was “pleased with a good, solid round of golf”.