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Botes sails into early lead
07/05/2008 14:42 - (SA)
Mbabane - Desvonde Botes launched his 15th Sunshine Tour title bid with style in the first round of the Royal Swazi Sun Open.
Botes produced some spectacular shots at the Royal Swazi Sun Country Club en route to a round of 62, which propelled the Pretoria professional to a commanding position in the R700 000 event.
His flawless performance included an eagle and eight birdies worth 21 points under the Modified Stableford format, which rewards players with two points for a birdie, five for an eagle, eight for an albatross and deducts one for a bogey and two for a double bogey or worse.
Botes leads Port Elizabeth's Titch Moore by four points and is eight clear of Cape Town young gun, Christiaan Basson.
A pair of bogeys against seven birdies and an eagle-3 was Moore's undoing, while Basson - with five birdies and an eagle - also fell foul of two dropped shots.
Josh Cunliffe moved into fourth spot with 11 points, one point clear of reigning Zambia Open champion Tyrone Ferreira, alone in fifth.
'It was really nice'
Keeping his card bogey-free under this format proved key to Botes' round.
"It was really nice to hand in a card like that. Keeping the mistakes off your card is key and everything seemed to go my way today. Even at the fourth, where my approach missed the green, I chipped in for birdie," Botes said.
"The group of guys I played with made up a nice little team. We had a lot of laughs out there and that kind of atmosphere, it was fun to play, especially when you are hitting the ball well.
Botes, who sunk a 5-metre putt at the par-5 12th for his eagle, admitted that lots of hours over the last two months on the driving range and putting green paid off dividends.
"I had a very mediocre summer; my best result was a tie for 21st at the Vodacom Championship ... that's just plain bad for me. I worked really hard on all aspects of the game to get my form back to an acceptable level and I am pleased with the way things worked out today."
In his last two starts, he tied for 16th at Bloemfontein Golf Club and Pretoria Country Club.
'Putter was sizzling'
"This is the first time that I'm in the lead after a long time and I have to admit, it feels good when you've done the work," said Botes, whose last victory came at the Pro-Am at Dainfern Country Club in 2006.
"I missed very few fairways, I struck my irons really well and the putter was sizzling. That's the kind of start you need under this format, so I am happy at this stage. Hopefully the streak continues on Thursday."
Although Botes can afford to relax with his four-point cushion over Moore, half of the 72-man field still has to complete their rounds, including defending champion Des Terblanche and local favourite, Meschack Zwane.
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