Picture by GETTY IMAGES.
DANIEL van Tonder carded a brilliant nine-under par 63 at Koro Creek Golf Club to take a two-shot lead into the second day of the Limpopo Championship.
The 28-year-old South African is looking to secure his first European Challenge Tour victory at the co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour event in the season-opener.
Van Tonder wasted little time charging to the top of the leaderboard, opening his title bid with an eagle before reeling off seven further gains on day one.
The first event of the season is played across two courses and local teenager Wilco Nienaber and Greek Sunshine Tour player Peter Karmis, who began their title challenge at Euphoria Golf Club, shot seven-under.
They share second place with South African duo Hennie du Plessis and MJ Viljoen, who tackled Koro Creek.
Van Tonder will now travel to Euphoria, where he claimed the second of his three Sunshine Tour victories in 2014.
After the field play one round at both Koro Creek and Euphoria the competitors are whittled down to the top 60 and ties who will compete for the title at Euphoria over the weekend.
“I’m delighted with that score today,” said van Tonder. “I missed a few birdie opportunities out there. But nine-under par is a great way to start.
“It’s not a long course so it is important to plot your way around and if you manage to get your tee shot away, then you give yourself a great birdie opportunity, which I managed to do really successfully.”
While the Limpopo Championship begins the 2020 Road to Mallorca, van Tonder is also targeting a maiden victory on the 2020 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, with the 28-year-old occupying second place with just four events of the Southern African’s circuit season remaining.
“I think it’s a really good thing for the Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour to compete together, and it was fun to play with Spanish player Pep Angles out there who is a good friend,” added Van Tonder.
“I’ve been playing well for a while and I think my game is good enough to have a chance to win.
“So I’m going to go out and give myself a chance and we’ll see at the end of the day.”
Defending champion JC Ritchie and his fellow South Africans Anton Haig and Rourke van der Spuy share sixth place on six-under.
They were joined on the mark by Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer and Jonas Kölbing, Essex’s former English Amateur Champion Todd Clements and Sweden’s Philip Eriksson.
First round leader van Tonder will get his second round under way at 11.20am local time, with the action continuing at both courses at 6.30am.
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