Altin van der Merwe posted a bogey-free six under par round of 66 to take a one stroke lead after the opening day of the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa.
The South African carded four birdies and an eagle without a blemish to edge one clear of countrymen Nikhil Rama and Rupert Kaminski, and Scotsman Calum Fyfe who share second place on five under par.
Van der Merwe turned professional in July last year after enjoying a stellar amateur career, and was delighted to get off to the perfect start in Limpopo, in the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour that kick-starts the 2025 HotelPlanner Tour season.
“That was awesome,” he said. “I was a bit lucky to have a bogey-free round with two really good par saves, but there’s three rounds to go and I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s the first time as a professional I’ve played well in the first round, so I’m looking forward to seeing how I can handle it.
“The putting was very good. Me and my wife, who is on the bag, have worked on that the last three weeks. Hopefully we can keep that going throughout the whole tournament.”
Van der Merwe made history in February last year by becoming the first men’s champion of the R&A’s inaugural Africa Amateur Championship which was held at Leopard Creek.
The 29-year-old teed it up in the opening group on day one alongside DP World Tour winner Adri Arnaus, and is relishing the prospect of testing himself further as the week goes on.
“I only just got into this tournament, so I’m very fortunate and very proud to play here,” he added. “The preparation was a bit hectic but I’m taking everything very seriously.
“I’m just hoping to build on this for the next four weeks with the HotelPlanner Tour and hopefully start to climb the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.
“I loved playing with Adri. He’s a very professional guy and you only see good golf shots from him. He’s professional in everything he does so that was very fun playing with a big name like that.”
Ten players share fifth place on four under par, including Englishman Tom Lewis, Frenchman Maxence Giboudot, Zimbabwean’s Benjamin Follett-Smith and Stuart Krog, and American Nick Carlson.
Arnaus, who had earlier struck the first tee shot on a historic day for the Tour, after HotelPlanner were last week named as the Challenge Tour’s new title partner, signed for a three under par round of 69 to share 15th.
Round two gets under way at 6:30am local time Van der Merwe teeing off alongside Spaniard Arnaus and Albanian Ilirian Zalli at 11:30am.
