Ritchie returns, takes lead at Zim Open

REIGNING Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open champion, JC Ritchie, returned to the golf course where he won his maiden Sunshine Tour title and wasted no time rekindling the relationship he has with the layout, carding an opening 66 to take a one-shot lead at this season’s edition.

“It’s a little bit like the golf course I grew up on,” said Ritchie of his relationship with the Royal Harare Golf Club after his round, “and the first golf course I became a member of in Pretoria. I’m familiar with the grass, the greens are just absolutely amazing and I don’t know since the first year I came to play here I just felt like I’m at home.”

Opening with a birdie on the 10th, his first hole, Ritchie made par on the next hole before making a birdie his third hole.

Those gains were reduced on the following hole as an unwanted bogey made its way onto his card.

That was just a temporary glitch for the 24-year old because he went on to make two more birdies on his fifth and seventh holes.

“I absolutely ruffled it today,” he noted, “I hit the golf ball really good, I’m putting really nicely and the greens allow for some good putting so I’m taking advantage of that.

‘’Even when it’s not good, it’s fun to play a golf course that you know. You know where to miss it and you know where not to miss it. You know the good places where to hit it and when you do, you know the greens.”

That kind of course understanding came to show as Ritchie’s back nine, the front nine of the course, was just as solid. After the par on the turn, back-to-back birdies followed. He kept things tight in the middle of the round, giving nothing away and making four straight pars. He made further gains when he birdied the 17th and signed for a six-under-par opening round.

Tied for the third spot on five-under-par 67 is the trio of Martin Rohwer, Andrew van der Knaap, and veteran Vaughn Groenewald.

Teeing off in the afternoon in perfect weather conditions in Harare, Groenewald’s experience came to the fore as he dropped a single shot all day while making six birdies in the process.

Last year’s runner-up, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Jonathan Agren and Alex Haindl who played really well last week in Zambia, are two shots behind Ritchie on four-under.

Member of the Gary Player Class of 2018-19 Jacquin Hess and Bryce Easton share the eighth spot with four others going into the second round.

The Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open has picked up a new title sponsor and has increased its prize fund by over 10 percent to R2-million.

It was first played in 1984 and was part of what was known as the Safari Tour, a collection of events in Africa that were played by professionals based on the European Tour during their winter. — Sunshine Tour.