Scottish pair just three shots off lead

GOLF: Drysdale and Johnston card 69s in opening round in South Africa

David Drysdale and Liam Johnston are just three shots off the lead after the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in Malelane.

The Scots both carded 69s to finish the day in a nine-strong group tied for fourth behind leader Oliver Bekker.

The South African shot a six-underpar 66 to take a one-stroke lead from Australian Dimitrios Papadatos on the edge of Kruger National Park.

Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin is third on the leaderboard on four under.

Bekker reached the turn in 33 before kicking on with a run of four successive birdies from the 11th.

He told www.europeantour.com: “I hit it really good today.

“The greens are really firm but I drove it well so I was in fairway most of the time and I could control my ball.

“I think the changes on this golf course are good for my game. I, traditionally, have not played that great over here, but today I felt like it suited my game a little bit better so I’m looking forward to what this week’s got in store.”

Bekker’s six birdies saw him overtake Papadatos, who had led earlier but could only add birdies on the 11th and 16th on his back nine.

Two more South Africans, Darren Fichardt and Dylan Frittelli, also reached five under early on but dropped back into the group on three under.

A further nine players were on two under, including Scotland’s Marc Warren and Robert MacIntyre, and England’s Ben Evans and Oliver Wilson. Louis Oosthuizen, winner of last week’s South African Open, was on one under.

At the Indonesian Masters, defending champion Justin Rose was a shot off the lead when bad weather halted the first round.

The world No 2, who will end 2018 back on top spot if he finishes higher than 12th in Jakarta, was five under through 14 holes when lightning led to a suspension of play.

American John Caitlin and Korea’s Lee Sung-ho were both in the clubhouse on six under having shot 66 in their opening rounds at the Asian Tour event.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who had also completed his round, was one of five players to card 67.

Rose, who had four birdies and an eagle on his card, will return on Friday morning along with 61 other players to play the remaining first round holes before the second round begins.

Caitlin, playing alongside Stenson, carded seven birdies while Lee overcame bogeys on the first and 10th by picking up shots on eight different holes.