Joburg Open first round raises SA’s hopes

15 January 2016

 

When South African-born Justin Walters shot to the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the Joburg Open with a seven under-par 65 yesterday, a lot of people’s chests swelled with pride.

 

Walters finished fourth in last week’s SA Open and hopes to make amends in the City of Johannesburg-sponsored Joburg Open by retaining the No 1 position when round two starts today (Friday January 15).

Six players – who include 22-year-old South African Haydn Porteous – share the second spot after carding six under-par on the East and West courses at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in Linksfield North.

Speaking after what he called a “good day at the office”, Walters said: “Today was a little bit more of what I’m not used to, not as many bogeys and I kept the birdies, which is nice. It’s always nice to keep the mistakes off the card, because those birdies, they count.

“I had a really good week last week and I really wanted to build on that coming into this week and keep the form going, and to be leading so far and to be in a good position, I’m so happy,” he said. Eight players were on five under-par, while 10 were on four under-par, making things very congested at the top of the leaderboard. Both courses, if you play well, offer a lot of birdies and generally out of a 200-man field you’re going to get 30 or 40 guys that are going to play a good round of golf,” said Walters.

“It’s really hard to separate yourself on these two courses, so I expect more of the same over the week,” added Walters.

Among the players on five under-par yesterday was Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who was runner-up to Brandon Stone in the SA Open last week. In Stone’s group, four-time Major champion Ernie Els carded a one under-par, while the newly crowned national champion went three under-par. One of the four SA National Golf amateurs, Dylan Naidoo, was in the top 70 after he carded a one under-par round.

The Joburg Open, which ends on Sunday, is the only tournament in South Africa that gives the top three placers direct entry into the British Open, the world’s most prestigious golf tournament.