Sun City — Dylan Mostert made the most of his recent equipment change on Friday as he put his new Srixon clubs into tournament play for the first time in the opening round of the Sunshine Tour’s Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.
The result was a six-under-par 66 and a share of the lead with Martin Rohwer of the 54-hole event that kicks off the 2022 action on the tour ahead of a host of Challenge Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned events. His seven birdies and just one bogey gave him and Rohwer the lead over Alex Haindl.
“The swing felt a bit rusty at the beginning,” said Mostert, “and I suppose that’s natural after the long break over December and January. But it started to come together nicely, and I putted really nicely, which helped a lot.
“Also, I was three-under for the par-threes, which is pretty good around this course,” he added. He was also three-under for the par-fives, which is a good thing too, and it was on the par-five 11th where he felt particularly fond of the new Srixon clubs.
“I started my round on the 10th,” he said, “and hit my approach right next to the hole. But it was my approach with a three-hybrid on the 11th that made me feel pretty good, and I was able to make a two-putt birdie there. That start settled any worries I had about my swing.”
He birdied the par-three 13th, and hit the turn in three-under 33 after missing out on birdie on 18. Birdies on one, three, five and seven were balanced by his only bogey, which came on the deceptively simple par-four sixth.
Rohwer had a bogey-free opening round, making birdie on the 18th to draw level right at the end of the day with Mostert who had teed off in the morning.
Behind the leaders, Haindl, who has won twice on the Sunshine Tour this season, was also bogey-free on his way to his opening 67. Jason Roets, Pieter Moolman, Luca Filippi and Hennie Du Plessis were in a share of fourth on four-under-par, with seven players in a share of eighth on three-under.
SA Tour Golf