Highlander Duncan Stewart led a strong Scottish surge on the opening day of the Tshwane Open in South Africa.
Stewart, 32 started his round at the 10th and raced to six-under through 14 holes before his only bogey at the last in a five under par 66 to be in a five-way share of fourth place and just a shot from the lead in the co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event.
Former Scottish Open winning Gregory Havret of France shares the lead with Swede Alexander Bjork and local Springbok hero Haydn Porteous.
Duncan Stewart one off the lead in 2017 Tshwane Open (Photo – European Tour)
Stewart said: “It’s a tricky course and the rough is really thick, so you’ve got to keep it on the fairway.
“A couple of times I didn’t hit it on the fairway, I got lucky and still had a shot to the green. The last hole was the result of a poor shot, but overall I gave myself quite a lot of chances and took a few of them as well.
“Everything was pretty good today. You had to keep it on the fairway, regardless of what club you were hitting off the tee.
“The short game was good and I holed out very well. I missed a few chances, but overall I putted very well and any time you shoot five-under you can’t complain.”
Also well-placed and a stroke further back is the two Scot’s – Scott Henry and Scott Jamieson.
Henry bogeyed the sixth but was five under for his last 10 holes while Jamieson birdied the closing two holes on each nine.
Richie Ramsay and Marc Warren signed for three-under par 68s while David Dysdale was well down the board at one over par.
