Course-knowledge helps Albertse to early Reading lead

A combination of course knowledge and extreme patience helped Rigardt Albertse to a single-stroke lead after he shot an opening round of six-under-par 65 in the Altron Big Easy Tour event.

With the effect of the snow taking grip of most of Gauteng, the first day of this second tournament of the season meant it was going to be a cold and windy outing for the players.

Albertse said the wind made it a tricky day, but he felt he missed it on the right spots and gave himself a lot of good chances and put well.

“I’ve had a few good outings on this course. I have won in my last two Bushveld events here, which gives me confidence. The most important for me was being good off the tee because it is not a long course.

“If you keep it on the fairways and give yourself opportunities, you will score well,” he explained.

Albertse went off from the 10th tee, birdying that hole before making further gains on the 12th, his third hole of the day. Then two more birdies, on his fifth and ninth holes, graced his card for a blemish-free 31 on the front nine.

Coming home, The Dundee Country Club player had to be extra cautious as the wind started swirling. A trio of pars to get settled was followed by a much-needed birdie.

A bogey on his 15th hole threatened to halt his progress, but Albertse recovered with back-to-back birdies to seal a round of 65.

Round one wrap

Albertse said he was satisfied with the first round because one always wants to start well and enable you to fight whatever happens in the following rounds.

“I know there is still a lot of golf to be played, but I have put myself in a good position. Hopefully, I can do the same in the second round to get myself into contention for the final round,” he said.

Abertse is aware that his slender lead can be easily overturned, especially with the trio of Makhetha Mazibuko, Keegan Mclachlan and Aneurin Gounden just a shot off the lead.

Gounden was flawless in round one, producing a bogey-free 66, while Mazibuko and Mclachlan had to deal with a few big numbers on their scorecards.

Gounden, from the Ebotse Golf Links, said he stuck to his processes and did his best.

“The key was to keep warm and keep your thoughts about you. You’ve got to hit and miss your tee shots on the right spots here to allow yourself to approach the green correctly.

“On the greens also, you have to miss it on the right spots to allow yourself to up-and-down when necessary. It is a good course with good scoring opportunities,” he said.

Veteran Andrew McLardy and Zambia’s Dayne Moore carded 67s for a share of fifth after day one, while Sentanio Minnie and Werner Deyzel’s 68s placed them in sharing the seventh.

Mauritius’ Pierre Pellegrin and Travis Ladner shared ninth on the leaderboard after respective rounds of two-under-par 69.