Blemish-free 66 gets Joubert in two-way share of lead in Soweto

Silverlakes Golf Club’s Drikus Joubert carded a bogey-free six-under-par 66 to tie the lead with Paul Boshoff after the opening round of the sixth tournament of the Betway Big Easy Tour at the historic Soweto Country Club on Tuesday.

“This course is so tough so I just tried to hit fairways and greens the whole round,” said Joubert after his sparkling round. “My goal this week is just to play stress-free golf. I played nicely on the Bushveld last week and that helped with some confidence coming into this week.”

Starting his round from the 10^th on Tuesday, Joubert made back-to-back pars to ease himself into what was going to be a tough round of golf with the gusting wind that kept changing direction the entire day. He then made two birdies on the trot – on 12 and 13 – to get some momentum before making another birdie on 15, his sixth hole of the round.

“I putted nicely today, for a change,” he noted. “What’s funny is that I have never played this course before yesterday’s practice round and somehow, putted really nicely. It’s different from the courses we normally play and it’s a really tough track.

“The driver was solid today and that helped a lot. As I said, the putter was obedient today and that always helps when you’re going for a low score. But the putting is really crucial around here.”

More gains on the third, the fifth and eighth holes sealed a flawless round of 66 for Joubert as he took the clubhouse lead.

“My first rounds have not been that great in the last couple of events,” Joubert reflected. “So, it’s nice to get out of the blocks quickly and just try to take it day by day and see what happens. I enjoyed myself today and we will see what happens in the next two rounds.”

Boshoff on the other hand had one bogey on his card en route to a 66 of his own. His round was characterised by seven birdies and that solitary drop but he will be pleased with the way he played in such tough conditions.

In a share of the third spot after rounds of 67 each is the trio of Stals Swart, Slade Pickering and member of the Papwa Sewgolum Class, Shalan Governder. The latter will be pleased with his position on the leaderboard after enduring a tough time on the fairways in recent times. Govender had missed the cut in his last three events on this circuit and his resurgence in Soweto will serve as motivation going into the final 36 holes this week.

Xander Basson occupies the sixth spot on n the leaderboard, thanks to an opening 68, while Tyrone Davidowitz, Louis Liebenberg, Makhetha Mazibuko, Allister de Kock and the veteran duo of Thabang Simon and Ulrich van den Berg share seventh on three-under-par.