Da Silva opens with 66 to lead at Origins

Da Silva leads at Origins

JOHANNESBURG, September 17 (ANA) – Adilson Da Silva carded a four-under-par 66 on Thursday to grab a share of the lead in the opening round of the Sunshine Tour’s Vodacom Origins of Golf event at the Woods at Mount Edgecombe.

The Brazilian veteran made six birdies and two bogeys on a rainy day to share the lead with Louis Albertse. That duo had a one-stroke edge over Siyanda Mwandla and Riekus Nortje, who, in turn, were one clear of 12 players on two-under-par.

Da Silva, who has won 12 times on the Sunshine Tour, a tally which includes three Vodacom Origins of Golf events, started his round on the 10th, and picked up early birdies on the 12th and 13th to get his campaign off to a good start. He was unable to take advantage of the par-five on that nine, making par on the 14th, and he made his first bogey on the 18th to turn in one-under.

He picked up that dropped shot immediately on the first with a birdie-three there, but gave that shot back immediately with a bogey on the par-three second. But he made birdies three, six and seven to sign for his four-under.

Albertse also started on the 10th, and he had a strong opening nine with birdies on 10, 12, 13 and 17 without dropping a shot. He turned in four-under 31. With three birdies after the turn on one, three and five, a very low round looked on the cards. But he followed that great run with a double-bogey six on the sixth and a bogey-four on the seventh. He managed to stabilise things after that wobble, and had pars on eight and nine to finish in four-under.

Mwandla had just one bogey on his card to be in second, and Nortje had two to share second with him.

Amongst the big group of players on two-under in a share of fifth was the in-form Alex Haindl, and the man who came so close to winning his maiden Sunshine Tour title in last week’s Sunshine Tour Invitational, Albert Venter, carded a three-over 73. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman