Saturday 13 December 2014 14:32, UK
Branden Grace stole the show from his major-winning compatriots as he fired a sparkling 10-under 62 on the opening day of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
Headline acts Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen both returned solid 69s, but they find themselves seven shots off the lead after Grace produced a superb birdie blitz at the stunning Leopard Creek Country Club.
Grace arrived at Malelane on the back of top-25 finishes in each of his last six starts, but he took his game to another level on a low-scoring first day.
The 26-year-old, without a European Tour victory since winning four times in 2012, birdied two of the first three holes and added two more at the sixth and seventh as he cruised to the turn in just 31 blows.
But he managed to increase his momentum on the inward nine, rolling in further birdie putts at 10, 11 and 13 before closing with three birdies in four holes to earn a remarkable three-stroke advantage over the field.
"I hit the ball superbly from the start to the finish," said Grace. "I can't remember the last time I hit 18 greens in a row, which is pretty nice, especially around this place where there are some daunting approaches.
"It's a good feeling going into the rest of the tournament."
Grace's closest challenger is fellow South African Jake Roos, who got off to the best possible start as he holed his approach to the 10th - his first - and followed with a birdie at 11.
Roos made his only mistake of the day at the next, but he responded with three consective birdies from the 14th and picked up two more birdies over his last four holes to set the early clubhouse target at seven under.
Danny Willett showed no signs of fatigue following his impressive win in Sun City last week as the Yorkshireman fired a flawless six-birdie 66 to earn a share of second with Matt Ford, who enjoyed a successful debut round as a European Tour professional.
Ford delivers
Ford provided one of the best stories of the Qualifying School, when he feared for his career during the second stage and considered a new job with the Royal Mail.
But a sizzling 62 got him into the Final Stage, where he comfortably claimed one of the 27 cards for this season, and he started with a bogey at Leopard Creek before propelling himself to the top of the early leaderboard with a run of seven birdies in nine holes.
"I'm very happy. It was a dream start to the tournament and my season," Ford said. "It's the first time I've had my European Tour card, so I am pleased with how today went."
Two-time European Ryder Cup player Francesco Molinari was one over after six holes before recovering with five birdies to return a 68, while 2010 Open champion Oosthuizen was one further back after a consistent four-birdie opener.
But consistency was hard to come by for former Masters champion Schwartzel, who is bidding for his third consecutive victory here after winning the previous two editions by a combined 16 shots.
Schwartzel rattled in seven birdies but also dropped four shots, although he managed to break 70 for the first time in 13 competitive rounds.
Much is expected of former world amateur No 1 Matthew Fitzpatrick this season, but the young Englishman handed in a mixed bag of a 71 featuring four birdies, one bogey and one double-bogey.
Live coverage of the second round begins on the red button on Sky Sports 4 at 8.30am on Friday.
