Loubser sets course alight in George
Boland junior Herman Loubser blistered the Kingswood Golf Estate in seven-under-par 65 to open up a one stroke lead in the Sanlam Cape Province Open Championship on Monday.
The De Villiers Graaff Golf Academy player was bogey-free over the first nine holes and turn five under.
Loubser offset bogeys at 15 and 18 with four gains over the back nine of the Sally Little signature course to take pole position in the curtain-raiser for the prestigious Sanlam SA Amateur Championship next week.
Gauteng North’s Chris van der Merwe finished one off the pace and South Africa’s number one ranked Tristen Strydom lags two behind the first round leader.
Van der Merwe had an equally productive day at George Golf Club and he managed to erase bogeys at three and 10 with a string of eight birdies.
Strydom finished just two off the pace at Kingswood after picking up birdies at one, three, four, five and eight in a flawless performance.
Central Gauteng’s David McIntyre, and Keegan Steyn grabbed a seat on the bus at four under 68 alongside Sean Bradley from Western Province, Keelan Africa from Boland and Swiss amateur Michael Harradine.
Africa had a particularly colourful round at Kingswood.
The Stellenbosch golfer opened with an eagle-three at the first, added a pair of birdies at three and four and traded bogeys for birdies through the sixth to ninth holes to turn four under.
He dropped three shots at the par four 11th, but negated the damage with gains at 13, 17 and 18 to sign for his 68.
Aubrey Beckley from North West, KwaZulu-Natal pair Matt Saulez and Gregory Mckay, Central Gauteng’s Dylan Naidoo and Luca Filippi from the Western Province completed the top 10 at three under.
FIRST ROUND SCORES – TOP 10
(Kingswood Golf Estate and George Golf Club combined)
65 Herman Loubser
66 Chris van der Merwe
67 Tristen Strydom
68 David Mcintyre; Keegan Steyn; Michael Harradine SUI; Sean Bradley; Keelan Africa
69 Dylan Naidoo; Gregory Mckay; Luca Filippi; Matt Saulez; Aubrey Beckley
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.