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Knysna - Branden Grace missed some putts in his opening round in the R540 000 Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Simola Golf Estate on Wednesday, but his six-under-par 66 was good enough to have him in second place.
"I had a couple of eagle putts that didn't go in, otherwise it could have been even better, but I'm very happy with my position at the moment," said Grace.
The round was not completed, with eight professionals still out on the course as darkness fell, all in pursuit of first-round leader Peter Karmis, who carded a seven-under-par 65 to lead Grace by one.
Karmis' round was flawless, with seven birdies and no drops, but Grace made bogeys on the fifth and the 16th to go with his eight birdies.
"Those happen in any round, but my game is really solid at the moment," said Grace.
"I have been playing well this year generally, and I have been knocking, knocking on the door for a win. It will happen for me sometime, I'm sure."
Behind Karmis and Grace, there was a big gathering of players on four-under-par 68: Albert Pistorius, Jean Hugo, Michiel Bothma and Jake Redman were joined by Jake Roos, who was four-under but yet to complete his round.
Redman, who is from the area, was pleased with his round: "There aren't that many tournaments in this part of the world, so it's good to be able to play here," said Redman.
He, like Pistorius, has been honing his game on the Sunshine Big Easy Tour presented by Stonehage. "Those extra competitive rounds definitely help me keep my game grooved," he said.
Karmis and Grace are both in the field in a week when tournaments on the circuits they play abroad are taking a break. Karmis plies his trade on the Asian Tour, where he had a maiden win in 2010, and Grace has been having a good run on the European Challenge Tour, where his best finish was a second in the Acaya Open in Italy at the beginning of July.
Karmis missed the cut in his last tournament, and was not too impressed with his putting. "I just put a new putter in my bag this week, and it's working out well," he said. “So much of putting is in the head, but even if the ball feels as if it's coming off the putter differently, it can make a difference."
And while Grace might have missed a few, he's pretty confident about his game.
His pursuers know it too. Hugo, who won the Vodacom Origins of Golf series opener in Pretoria said: "We have to catch him. The way he is playing, he"s the man to beat. He could have been leading my two if he didn't have some bad luck."
Scores (RSA unless specified):
-7 - Peter Karmis
-6 - Branden Grace
-4 - Albert Pistorius, Jake Redman, Jean Hugo, Michiel Bothma, Jake Roos [15]
-3 - Alex Haindl, Grant Muller, Willie van der Merwe
-2 - Wynand Dingle, Neil Schietekat, Johan du Buisson, Lyle Rowe, Darren Fichardt, Theunis Spangenberg, David Hewan
-1 - Ulrich van den Berg, Vaughn Groenewald, Jaco Ahlers, Andrew Curlewis, Adilson da Silva (BRA), Mark Murless, Teboho Sefatsa [15]
Par - Keenan Davidse, Chris Swanepoel, Oliver Bekker, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Louis de Jager, Jacques Blaauw, Irvin Mazibuko, James Kamte [15]
+1 - Alan Michell, Tjaart van der Walt, Divan van den Heever, Merrick Bremner, Thabang Simon, Omar Sandys, Doug McGuigan, Charl Coetzee, JJ Senekal [15]
+2 - Louis Moolman, PH McIntyre, Ryan Tipping, Allan Versfeld, Ryan Thompson, Steven Ferreira [15]
+3 - Ryan Hood, Ockie Strydom, Francois van Vuuren, Dean O'Riley, Colin Nel, JG Claassen, Daniel Greene, Bradford Vaughan
+4 - Mark Williams, Blanche Lamprecht, Grant Veenstra, Garry Hill, Lindani Ndwandwe, Brandon Pieters
+5 - Louis Calitz, Desvonde Botes, Ryan Cairns (ZIM), Christiaan Basson, Prinavin Nelson
+6 - Johan Bekker, Reggie Adams, Tyrone Mordt, Mark Fensham
+7 - Warren Abery, Nic Henning [15]
"I had a couple of eagle putts that didn't go in, otherwise it could have been even better, but I'm very happy with my position at the moment," said Grace.
The round was not completed, with eight professionals still out on the course as darkness fell, all in pursuit of first-round leader Peter Karmis, who carded a seven-under-par 65 to lead Grace by one.
Karmis' round was flawless, with seven birdies and no drops, but Grace made bogeys on the fifth and the 16th to go with his eight birdies.
"Those happen in any round, but my game is really solid at the moment," said Grace.
"I have been playing well this year generally, and I have been knocking, knocking on the door for a win. It will happen for me sometime, I'm sure."
Behind Karmis and Grace, there was a big gathering of players on four-under-par 68: Albert Pistorius, Jean Hugo, Michiel Bothma and Jake Redman were joined by Jake Roos, who was four-under but yet to complete his round.
Redman, who is from the area, was pleased with his round: "There aren't that many tournaments in this part of the world, so it's good to be able to play here," said Redman.
He, like Pistorius, has been honing his game on the Sunshine Big Easy Tour presented by Stonehage. "Those extra competitive rounds definitely help me keep my game grooved," he said.
Karmis and Grace are both in the field in a week when tournaments on the circuits they play abroad are taking a break. Karmis plies his trade on the Asian Tour, where he had a maiden win in 2010, and Grace has been having a good run on the European Challenge Tour, where his best finish was a second in the Acaya Open in Italy at the beginning of July.
Karmis missed the cut in his last tournament, and was not too impressed with his putting. "I just put a new putter in my bag this week, and it's working out well," he said. “So much of putting is in the head, but even if the ball feels as if it's coming off the putter differently, it can make a difference."
And while Grace might have missed a few, he's pretty confident about his game.
His pursuers know it too. Hugo, who won the Vodacom Origins of Golf series opener in Pretoria said: "We have to catch him. The way he is playing, he"s the man to beat. He could have been leading my two if he didn't have some bad luck."
Scores (RSA unless specified):
-7 - Peter Karmis
-6 - Branden Grace
-4 - Albert Pistorius, Jake Redman, Jean Hugo, Michiel Bothma, Jake Roos [15]
-3 - Alex Haindl, Grant Muller, Willie van der Merwe
-2 - Wynand Dingle, Neil Schietekat, Johan du Buisson, Lyle Rowe, Darren Fichardt, Theunis Spangenberg, David Hewan
-1 - Ulrich van den Berg, Vaughn Groenewald, Jaco Ahlers, Andrew Curlewis, Adilson da Silva (BRA), Mark Murless, Teboho Sefatsa [15]
Par - Keenan Davidse, Chris Swanepoel, Oliver Bekker, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Louis de Jager, Jacques Blaauw, Irvin Mazibuko, James Kamte [15]
+1 - Alan Michell, Tjaart van der Walt, Divan van den Heever, Merrick Bremner, Thabang Simon, Omar Sandys, Doug McGuigan, Charl Coetzee, JJ Senekal [15]
+2 - Louis Moolman, PH McIntyre, Ryan Tipping, Allan Versfeld, Ryan Thompson, Steven Ferreira [15]
+3 - Ryan Hood, Ockie Strydom, Francois van Vuuren, Dean O'Riley, Colin Nel, JG Claassen, Daniel Greene, Bradford Vaughan
+4 - Mark Williams, Blanche Lamprecht, Grant Veenstra, Garry Hill, Lindani Ndwandwe, Brandon Pieters
+5 - Louis Calitz, Desvonde Botes, Ryan Cairns (ZIM), Christiaan Basson, Prinavin Nelson
+6 - Johan Bekker, Reggie Adams, Tyrone Mordt, Mark Fensham
+7 - Warren Abery, Nic Henning [15]
