Moore takes advantage of calm before storm

Titch Moore took advantage of benign conditions on Thursday to post a six-under-par 66 at the St Francis Links and move into a three-way share of the first-round lead of the Vodacom Origins of Golf event.

And with gale-force winds forecast for the second day, the Sunshine Tour got the second round under way immediately, in the hope of dodging the chaos that gusts predicted to reach upwards of 85km/h are expected to cause.

Moore made seven birdies and a bogey on his way to the top of the leaderboard, a position he shared with Desne van den Bergh and CJ du Plessis.

They had a one-stroke edge over Hennie Otto, Colin Nel and Swede Jonathan Agren.

“You’ve got to take advantage when the weather is as good as it was this morning,” Moore, who plays a lot of golf at the course, said.

“It’s all dependent on wind. If it stays like this in the afternoon, we’re going to have to find another low one.

“I kept it in play nicely in the first round, gave myself some chances. Because of my experience here, I know where I can and can’t miss.

“I’ve been playing nicely for a while, so I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Defending champion Doug McGuigan carded a solid fourunder-par 68, just two shots behind the leaders.

With him were Peter Karnis, Ulrich van den Berg, Jaco Ahlers, England’s Steve Surry and Alex Haindl.