Paisley plagued by familiar problems
CHRIS Paisley suffered a spate of damaging bogeys as he shot a threeover-par 75 in the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
The Stocksfield player finished well down the field after day one at the Leopard Creek course in Malelane, South Africa.
Paisley started in fine style and celebrated a birdie three at the 451yard first hole.
Looking to build on that, he had an excellent par at the long par-five second, and following another par at the third, he slipped at the 471yard par-four fourth with a bogey five.
Between such lapses Paisley is playing steady par golf, and when he replaces bogeys for birdies he will start burning up the course.
He had a safe par at the short fifth, then hit the birdie trail again at the par-four sixth, and made it a hattrick of threes at the seventh.
Following a par at the eighth he looked to be motoring steadily along, but another dreaded bogey at the ninth saw him turn in a level-par 35. Since Paisley returned from his mid-season lapse he has largely recorded consistent par golf, but to return to the top of the table he needs to eradicate the costly bogeys. Leopard Creek is in the top 100 courses in the world, and the back nine is a torrid test with fast running greens, elevation changes and seemingly endless water hazards.
Paisley shot himself in the foot at the 430-yard 10th where he wrestled with one of the pure white sanded bunkers and came to an abrupt halt with another bogey five.
Following a par-four at the 11th, he crashed with a disappointing bogey at the short 12th to go two over par.
His fluctuating fortunes turned upwards at the 13th, when he could ring another birdie on his card, but he immediately nosedived for his fifth bogey at the par-four 14th.
Paisley hadn’t really got to grips with the course, but put a break on the bogeys at the par-five 15th with a par. He then had an ugly four at the short 16th before closing with two pars to return in a hugely disappointing three-over-par 40.
South African Oliver Bekker shot a six-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round.
Bekker carded six birdies against just one bogey as he edged ahead of Australian Dimitrios Papadatos.
Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin is third on the leaderboard on four under ahead of a group of nine players on three under which includes Scottish pair David Drysdale and Liam Johnston.