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East London - The feared wind did not arrive, and predictably the players lined up to take advantage in Thursday's first round of the Africa Open at East London Golf Club.
Richard Sterne was the first to top the leaderboard with a bogey-free round of seven-under-par 66 on the par-73 layout.
He was followed later in the day by countrymen Titch Moore and Trevor Fisher Jnr., as well as Swede Patrik Sjoland and Denmark's Mark Haastrup.
They all share a one-stroke lead over Charl Schwartzel, Thomas Aiken, Tjaart van der Walt and Keith Horne.
Darren Clarke opened with a four under 69. But despite the favourable conditions, some of the tournament's other marquee players struggled to make an impact.
England's Ryder Cup hopeful Nick Dougherty stumbled to a three-over-par 76, and New Zealand sensation Danny Lee signed for a 77. Even local hope James Kamte could do no better than a 77.
But with over half of the field managing to break par in the first round, it was a forgiving day on this venerable layout.
"The conditions were nice out there - hardly any wind and plenty of birdie opportunities," said Moore.
Sterne was the only one of the leaders to play in the morning, and he went about his round with the confidence of a man who found the kind of form on the greens to match his impressive ball striking.
"That's the key. I normally hit the ball pretty well but don't make the putts. Today I rolled in eight or nine 20-footers and that helped," he said after a round of seven birdies.
The fact that he was able to do most of his scoring playing the back nine first was also a source of confidence for Sterne.
"I made some good putts in the beginning of the round, especially for pars on holes 13 and 14. That kept my round going. Then I made a few more coming in on the back nine, which in my opinion is tougher than the front."
Sterne certainly knows his way around this layout, shooting a third round of 61 here in the third round of the 2009 tournament.
"I had it going again today and was seven under with five holes to go. But those aren't my favourite holes so I just played them conservatively. But I was happy that I was never in trouble out there."
Leading first-round scores:
Trevor Fisher (South Africa) 66
Mark Haastrup (Denmark) 66
Titch Moore (South Africa) 66
Patrik Sjoland (Sweden) 66
Richard Sterne (South Africa) 66
Thomas Aiken (South Africa) 67
Keith Horne (South Africa) 67
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 67
Tjaart Van der Walt (South Africa) 67
Charl Coetzee (South Africa) 68
George Coetzee (South Africa) 68
Robert Coles (Britain) 68
Andre Cruse (South Africa) 68
Dion Fourie (South Africa) 68
Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) 68
Michael Hoey (Britain) 68
Sam Hutsby (Britain) 68
James Kingston (South Africa) 68
Jose-Filipe Lima (Portugal) 68
Michael Lorenzo-Vera (France) 68
James Morrison (Britain) 68
Deane Pappas (South Africa) 68
Jake Roos (South Africa) 68
Miles Tunnicliff (Britain) 68
Justin Walters (Britain) 68
Oliver Bekker (South Africa) 69
Jacques Blaauw (South Africa) 69
Michiel Bothma (South Africa) 69
Darren Clarke (Britain) 69
Louis De Jager (South Africa) 69
Pelle Edberg (Sweden) 69
Kenneth Ferrie (Britain) 69
Garry Houston (Britain) 69
Jbe Kruger (South Africa) 69
Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 69
Martin Maritz (South Africa) 69
Hennie Otto (South Africa) 69
Paulo Pinto (Argentina) 69
Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 69
Jarmo Sandelin (Sweden) 69
Neil Schietekat (South Africa) 69
Carl Suneson (Spain) 69
Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa) 69
Bradford Vaughan (South Africa) 69
Richard Sterne was the first to top the leaderboard with a bogey-free round of seven-under-par 66 on the par-73 layout.
He was followed later in the day by countrymen Titch Moore and Trevor Fisher Jnr., as well as Swede Patrik Sjoland and Denmark's Mark Haastrup.
They all share a one-stroke lead over Charl Schwartzel, Thomas Aiken, Tjaart van der Walt and Keith Horne.
Darren Clarke opened with a four under 69. But despite the favourable conditions, some of the tournament's other marquee players struggled to make an impact.
England's Ryder Cup hopeful Nick Dougherty stumbled to a three-over-par 76, and New Zealand sensation Danny Lee signed for a 77. Even local hope James Kamte could do no better than a 77.
But with over half of the field managing to break par in the first round, it was a forgiving day on this venerable layout.
"The conditions were nice out there - hardly any wind and plenty of birdie opportunities," said Moore.
Sterne was the only one of the leaders to play in the morning, and he went about his round with the confidence of a man who found the kind of form on the greens to match his impressive ball striking.
"That's the key. I normally hit the ball pretty well but don't make the putts. Today I rolled in eight or nine 20-footers and that helped," he said after a round of seven birdies.
The fact that he was able to do most of his scoring playing the back nine first was also a source of confidence for Sterne.
"I made some good putts in the beginning of the round, especially for pars on holes 13 and 14. That kept my round going. Then I made a few more coming in on the back nine, which in my opinion is tougher than the front."
Sterne certainly knows his way around this layout, shooting a third round of 61 here in the third round of the 2009 tournament.
"I had it going again today and was seven under with five holes to go. But those aren't my favourite holes so I just played them conservatively. But I was happy that I was never in trouble out there."
Leading first-round scores:
Trevor Fisher (South Africa) 66
Mark Haastrup (Denmark) 66
Titch Moore (South Africa) 66
Patrik Sjoland (Sweden) 66
Richard Sterne (South Africa) 66
Thomas Aiken (South Africa) 67
Keith Horne (South Africa) 67
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 67
Tjaart Van der Walt (South Africa) 67
Charl Coetzee (South Africa) 68
George Coetzee (South Africa) 68
Robert Coles (Britain) 68
Andre Cruse (South Africa) 68
Dion Fourie (South Africa) 68
Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) 68
Michael Hoey (Britain) 68
Sam Hutsby (Britain) 68
James Kingston (South Africa) 68
Jose-Filipe Lima (Portugal) 68
Michael Lorenzo-Vera (France) 68
James Morrison (Britain) 68
Deane Pappas (South Africa) 68
Jake Roos (South Africa) 68
Miles Tunnicliff (Britain) 68
Justin Walters (Britain) 68
Oliver Bekker (South Africa) 69
Jacques Blaauw (South Africa) 69
Michiel Bothma (South Africa) 69
Darren Clarke (Britain) 69
Louis De Jager (South Africa) 69
Pelle Edberg (Sweden) 69
Kenneth Ferrie (Britain) 69
Garry Houston (Britain) 69
Jbe Kruger (South Africa) 69
Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 69
Martin Maritz (South Africa) 69
Hennie Otto (South Africa) 69
Paulo Pinto (Argentina) 69
Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 69
Jarmo Sandelin (Sweden) 69
Neil Schietekat (South Africa) 69
Carl Suneson (Spain) 69
Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa) 69
Bradford Vaughan (South Africa) 69
