Share

Adilson leads in Zambia

Ndola - Adilson Da Silva found his putting stroke on Friday to take the lead at the 6,474-metre par-73 Ndola Golf Club with an impeccable nine-under-par 64 in the opening round of the Zambia Open.

The Brazilian, runner-up on August 20 to James Kingston in the last tournament played on the Sunshine Tour, has felt he has been hitting the ball pretty well for some time now, but needed to get his putter working to convert good form into a possible victory.

“I had only 27 putts today,” he said, “and I took 30 on a par-72 in the first round at Selborne last week.”

That improvement gave him a two-stroke lead over rookie Jake Redman, who was alone in second on 66, and a three-shot cushion over Bradford Vaughan, Christiaan Basson and Brett Liddle who shared third on six-under 67.

“I was making the six-to-eight footers today,” said Da Silva. “Some of them were pretty tricky, but I managed to roll them in.”

Defending champion Jbe’ Kruger was on four-under 69, and the top Zambian player after round one was Patrick Mwendapole on two-under 71.

Da Silva felt his round was a bit becalmed after he birdied his second hole of the day – he started on 10 – but he was soon able to get some momentum going: “I made an eagle on 15 when my wedge went in, so that helped,” he said.

After that, he made six more birdies, and, crucially, no bogeys on his way to a flawless round.

Redman’s seven-under-par card was his best as a professional. “It felt better than the 66 I got at Sishen in May,” he said – doubtless because that was on a par-72 course.

“I hit it really nicely,” he said, “and that was the secret to the round – the putting was good but not great.”

The rookies who have got into contention this year have battled to maintain any momentum, but Redman found himself looking forward to the second round with relish. “I’m nervous, but that’s probably a good thing,” he said.

Elsewhere in the field, 2008 champion Tyrone Ferreira was on one-under 72, while the man who won in 2006 and 2007, Steve Basson, found himself on one-over 74.

Scores (RSA unless specified):
64 - Adilson da Silva (BRA)
66 - Jake Redman
67 - Bradford Vaughan, Christiaan Basson, Brett Liddle
68 - Thabang Simon, Johan du Buisson
69 - Ryan Thompson, Warren Abery, Jbe' Kruger, David Hewan, Brian Njoroje (KEN), Dean Burmester
70 - Alan Michell, Nic Henning, Jaco Ahlers, Des Terblanche, Theunis Spangenberg, Justin Harding
71 - Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM), Alain Norris, PH McIntyre, Lindani Ndwandwe, Darren Blair, Ryan Clarke, Colin Nel, Patrick Mwendapole (ZAM), Jake Roos, Oliver Bekker, Titch Moore
72 - John Bele, Robson Saurombe (ZIM), Dayne Moore (ZAM) (AMA), Mike Curtis (ZIM), Eugen Marugi, PG van Zyl, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu (ZIM), Cameron Johnston, Ulrich van den Berg, Bennie van der Merwe, Jacques Blaauw, Tyrone Ferreira, Prinavin Nelson, Daniel Greene, Ryan Tipping, Derik Ferreira, Gary Baynham, Coenie Stoop
73 - Louis Calitz, Vincent Kabaso (ZAM), Divan van den Heever, Nemanja Savic (SER), Ali Kimani (KEN), Mark Fensham, Amos Kamya (UGA), Steven Ferreira, Adrian Ford, Marc Cayeux (ZIM), Kangwine Chiluba (ZAM), Toto Thimba (Jnr), Mohammed Zulu (ZAM)
74 - Attie Schwartzel, Anthony Michael, Willie van der Merwe, Morne Buys, Beza Daka (ZAM), Brandon Gouveris, Anyway Katembenuka (ZIM), Brandon Pieters, Steve Basson, TC Charamba (ZIM), Irvin Mazibuko
75 - Trevor Fisher Jnr, Garry Hill, Tsietsi Chabangu, Ben Hatchwell (CAN), Danie van Niekerk (Jnr), Charl Coetzee, Andrew Curlewis, Darryn Lloyd
76 - Jacob Okello (KEN), Neil Schietekat, Doug McGuigan, Mohamed Tayob, Kenneth Dube, Teboho Sefatsa, Nicol van Wyk, Ivan van Onselen, Akil Yousuf (ENG), Michael Scholz
77 - Chris Erasmus, Sean Farrell (ZIM), Obed Sholoma (ZAM) (AMA), Joseph Malembe (ZAM) (AMA), Kelvin Phiri (ZAM), Michael Dreyer, Martin Maritz, Merrick Bremner, Andrew Odoh (NGA)
78 - Tyrone van Aswegen, Divan du Piesanie, Francois van Vuuren
79 - Don Black, Fred Ndhlovu (ZAM) (AMA), Tich Musemburi, David le Roux, Kelly Munkombwe (ZAM) (AMA), Alpheus Kelapile, Mwila Mwango (ZAM) (AMA), Bube Samutela (Zam) (Ama)
81 - Jeff Inglis (ENG), Darren Bismark(ZIM), Aaron Simfukwe (ZAM), Stephen Mbewe (ZAM)
82 - Chris Corry (ENG), Deo Akope (UGA), Sherai B Kalaba (ZAM) (AMA)
83 - Dylan Docherty
84 - Denmark Mulambo (ZAM) (AMA)
85 - Michael McGrady, Ali Tsai (TPE), Taymen Erasmus
88 - T Sondashi (ZAM) (AMA)
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1272 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1469 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2240 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE