Joburg Open 2021 winner Thriston Lawrence ended the opening day of the 2023 edition of the tournament at the top of leaderboard.
The 26-year-old from Mpumalanga set the tone of the tournament with a sublime eight-under-par score of 62, three strokes ahead of fellow South African Nikhil Rama who recorded a round of 65.
Lawrence is leading a strong field of 162 golfers who teed off on Thursday at the Houghton Golf Club, in the northern suburb of Joburg.
Defending champion, England’s Dan Bradbury – who logged a four-under-par 66 – is tied at No 3 with Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, fellow Englishman Andy Sullivan, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher, Wales’ Stuart Manley, and South Africans Zander Lombard, Jacques Kruyswijk, Jayden Schaper, Jaco Prinsloo and Darren Fichardt.
The 2022 Joburg Open was the first win for the European Tour golfer, Bradbury, who turned professional on the same year. He’s fresh from recording a score of 11 under par to claim fifth place at Africa’s Major – the Nedbank Golf Challenge – held at Sun City on November 22 to 26.
For Lawrence it is the prospect of going down in the history books as the third player to win the Joburg Open twice that is also helping him bring out his A-game. It is still a long 54 holes in which anything can happen, but if he were to win, he will join Charl Schwartzel and Richard Sterne as double winners of the title.
He has already set the lowest score recorded at the Houghton Golf Club with the course playing as a par 70 as it is this week for the Joburg Open.
Under the scorching sun in Jozi, which is currently in the grip of a heatwave, Lawrence kept his cool logging bogey-free round coloured by eight beautiful birdies. He opened and closed the day with birdies, nudging Rama off the top spot.
Sunday World which for most of the afternoon camped on the 16th green – a tricky hole measuring about 230m with lots of carry over water – witnessed some jaw-dropping moments including a six-iron tee shot from Toto Thimba Jnr that landed at the back of the green. A mesmerising long putt that unfortunately broke away to the right of the hole denied him his second birdie of the day.
As he was leaving the green, Thimba admitted that he been battling to find the pace of the green in his opening round. “I am hitting either long or short,” said a clearly disappointed Thimba on his first-day performance.
Unlike Thimba, Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren had a better time on the 16th. His tee shot landed in the bunker, but his sublime bunker shot saved the day going straight into the whole earning him a birdie. He ended the day with a two-under-par 68.
It is going to be a tough Friday for Thimba who must find his rhythm on the course if he is to make the cut for the weekend.
South Africa is strongly represented with green jacket holder Charl Shwartzel and 2020 SA Open winner Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Zander Lombard and Darren Fichardt among the local-strong field.
