Share

Rowe goes low in Zambia

Cape  Town - His last two rounds at Lusaka Golf Club have seen him go 15 under par, and it was no surprise to see Lyle Rowe in the lead on Thursday at the end of the first round of the R1.5-million Zambia Sugar Open.

He carded a seven-under-par 66 to lead a group of three players – Daniel Greene, Haydn Porteous and Rhys Enoch from Wales – by one stroke, and, in the process, extend a run of low scores from his closing 65 with which he closed last year’s tournament on his way to a four-stroke victory.

“It’s nice to get a good round away, especially in the first round,” he told the Sunshine Tour website.

“The course is playing beautifully. If you hit good shots, you get rewarded for them. The greens are holding and it’s probably the best the locals have ever got the greens – so there are scores out there.”

He started his round on the 10th, and immediately made two consecutive birdies, before a double-bogey at the 13th – his fourth – threatened to derail him. “It was a silly error with that double-bogey on the par-five,” he said.

“I was trying to hit a lay-up, and I got a bit unlucky and the ball caught a branch and kicked over onto the other side of the fairway.

"I tried to hook a nine-iron from there, and it didn’t hook, and I hit a very bad mental-error chip shot which cost me the double.”

From then on, however, it was all plain sailing as he reeled off seven more birdies to get himself in the clubhouse in a good position after the first day of his title defence.

His playing partners were Danie van Tonder and Porteous, and Van Tonder finished his round in three-under-par to round out a group which was collectively 16 under par.

“It was good playing with Haydn and Danie today,” said Rowe.

“We kind of kept each other going with birdies just about every other hole. So we all knew that the score was up for grabs, and we had to keep pushing for birdies.”

Porteous finished in a share of fifth in last year’s tournament, and he was pleased with his efforts in the first round this year.

He wasn’t ready to think about winning his second professional title – after his victory in the Barclays Kenya Open last month – just yet. “You learn a lot about yourself after a win,” he said, “but you can’t get complacent about it and you’ve still got to put 100 percent into everything.

“And I’m not going to say winning on the Sunshine Tour is easy, so I’ve just got to carry on playing.”

If he carries on playing as he did in the opening round, during which he made an eagle and four birdies, then there could be an interesting battle ahead between him and Rowe – although Greene, Enoch, and the six players on five-under are all handily placed too.

First round scores:

66 - Lyle Rowe (RSA)
67 - Daniel Greene (RSA), Haydn Porteous (RSA), Rhys Enoch (WAL)
68 - Le Roux Ferreira (RSA), Jean Hugo (RSA), Bryce Easton (RSA), Titch Moore (RSA), Vaughn Groenewald (RSA),Louis Calitz (RSA)
69 - Lean Boezaart (RSA), Tyrone Ferreira (RSA), Mark Williams (ZIM), Dean Burmester (RSA), JC Ritchie (RSA),Dayne Moore (ZAM), Tyrone Ryan (RSA)
70 - Steve Surry (ENG), Tyrone Mordt (RSA), Heinrich Bruiners (RSA), Danie van Tonder (RSA), Patrick Newcomb (USA),Derik Ferreira (RSA), Steven Ferreira (RSA), Christiaan Basson (RSA), Justin Harding (RSA), Ryan Tipping (RSA),Anthony Michael (RSA), Allan Versfeld (RSA)
71 - Dongkwan Kim (KOR), Michael Hollick (RSA), Madalitso Muthiya (ZAM), Colin Nel (RSA), Rhys West (RSA),Abhinav Walia (ZAM) (AMA), Andre Cruse (RSA), Morne Buys (RSA), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Peter Karmis (RSA),Charl Coetzee (RSA), Andrew Georgiou (RSA), Jaco Prinsloo (RSA), Teboho Sefatsa (RSA)
72 - Glen de Waal (NAM), Ryan Cairns (ZIM), Zander Lombard (RSA), Drikus Bruyns (RSA), Ulrich van den Berg (RSA),Alex Gaugert (USA), Brian Gondo (ZIM), Derick Petersen (RSA), Werner van Niekerk (RSA), Eddie Taylor (RSA),Thabo Maseko (RSA), Alan Michell (RSA), Jacques Kruyswijk (RSA), Ignatius Mketekete (ZIM), Otto van Greunen (RSA)
73 - Russel Franz (RSA), Cosmas Mufaya (ZAM), Breyten Meyer (RSA), Matengele Kaira (ZAM) (AMA), Wynand Dingle (RSA),Trevor Mahoney (RSA), Hennie du Plessis (RSA), JeanPaul Strydom (RSA), Kevin Rundle (RSA), Drikus van der Walt (RSA),CJ du Plessis (RSA), PH McIntyre (RSA), Divan van den Heever (RSA), Toto Thimba (Jnr), James Kamte (RSA),Lindani Ndwandwe (RSA), Theunis Spangenberg (RSA), Coert Groenewald (RSA)
74 - Jake Redman (RSA), Oliver Bekker (RSA), MJ Viljoen (RSA), Alessandro Grammatica (ITA), Bruce Chanda (ZAM),Nemanja Savic (SRB), Richard Ainley (KEN), Matthew Carvell (RSA), Grant Veenstra (RSA), Louis de Jager (RSA),Andrew McLardy (RSA), Francois Coetzee (RSA), Rourke van der Spuy (RSA), Bryce Bibby (RSA), Tyron Roelofsz (RSA),Roy Da Costa (POR)
75 - Denmark Mulambo (ZAM) (AMA), Stuart Smith (BOT), Shaun Smith (RSA), Bradford Vaughan (RSA), Ruan de Smidt (RSA),Burger Heckroodt (RSA), Neil Schietekat (RSA), Justin Turner (RSA), Arthur Horne (SWZ)
76 - Meshack Zwane (SWZ), Daniel Hammond (RSA), Nico Els (RSA), Makhetha Mazibuko (RSA), Calvin Caldeira (RSA),TC Charamba (ZIM), Dezzie Ngandu (ZAM) (AMA), Stefan Engell Andersen (KEN), Robson Saurombe (ZIM), Desvonde Botes (RSA),Warren Abery (RSA)
77 - Andrew Light (RSA), Mohammed Zulu (ZAM), Langley Perrins (RSA), Mohammad Rauf Mandhu (ZIM), Jacob Okello (KEN)
78 - Jason Taylor (ZAM), Farayi Chitengwa (ZIM), Ruan Huysamen (NAM), Stephen Ferreira (POR), Beza Daka (ZAM),Kelvin Phiri (ZAM), Doug McGuigan (RSA)
79 - Greg Bentley (ZIM), Thabang Simon (RSA), Charles Shalubobya (ZAM) (AMA), James Lorum (KEN), Maritz Wessels (RSA),Bube Samutela (ZAM)
80 - Kelly Tembo (ZAM) (AMA)
81 - Geoffrey Banda (ZAM), Patrick Mwendapole (ZAM), Gabriel Chibale (ZAM) (AMA), Jack Kutumane (RSA),Charlie Butts (ZAM) (AMA), Aaron Simfukwe Jnr (ZAM) (AMA), Boyd Kapalamoto (ZAM) (AMA), Sydney Wemba (ZAM) (AMA)
82 - Altaaf Bux (RSA)
83 - Peter Munyinya (ZAM) (AMA), Aaron Simfukwe Snr (ZAM)
85 - Gibson Saloba (ZAM)
87 - Scott Bailey (ENG)

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% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2249 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