SA’s Brandon Stone and Shaun Norris fired matching five-under 67s in the first round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic on Thursday FILE - SA’s Brandon Stone and Shaun Norris (pictured) fired matching five-under 67s in the first round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic on Thursday. Photo: Kamran Jebreili/AP
Johannesburg - Brandon Stone and Shaun Norris fired matching five-under 67s in the first round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Al Hamra Golf Course, in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox leads the way on nine-under after a stellar opening round of 63. Two behind is Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia on seven-under 65 with another 10 players tied on six-under.
Norris and Stone, for their efforts, share a place inside the top-15 in a tie for 12th.
The 39-year-old Norris was off to a fast start after birdieing the par four second, but two bogeys in his next three holes dropped him back down the leaderboard. Norris, though, bounced back in emphatic fashion with three birdies in a row from the sixth as he made the turn in two-under.
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His third bogey of the day came at the par four 12th, but again Norris responded with three gains in a row. His final birdie of the day came at the par four 17th to move him to five-under and complete a solid opening round.
Stone also made a good start to his tournament with a birdie four on the third. The highlight of Stone’s round was an eagle two at the par four fifth. After hitting his tee shot just short of a greenside bunker, Stone with one foot in the sand played a beautifully struck pitch shot that ran a good 30m before rolling straight into the hole for a two.
Hole out eagle 😲@BrandonMStone with a touch of class at the fifth. #RakGolfClassic pic.twitter.com/dztHTw50iE
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 10, 2022
The 28-year-old would follow that up with a birdie three at the next as he went out in four-under. Stone would pick up two more birdies on the way home to get to seven-under, at the par five 14th and par four 16th, before a frustrating bogey six on his final hole of the round.
Another pair of South Africans went low, with Justin Walters and Justin Harding each signing for a four-under 68 for a share of 22nd.
Teeing off on the 10th, The 41-year-old Walters started with a bogey five. He would pull a shot back at the par three 15th as he made the turn in level par.
A good wedge approach from 108 metres at the par five third set-up a five-footer for birdie which he duly made to move into red figures for the first time on the day. The standout shot of the round for Walters came at the par four sixth, where he holed a monster 54-foot putt for birdie. That would turn out to be the the first of three birdies in a row as he finished his round in style.
Harding, meanwhile, reeled off an impressive six birdies during his round with just one drop coming at the par five eighth.
One stroke behind on three-under 69 was Richard Sterne in a tie for 30th.
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George Coetzee and SA Open champion Daniel van Tonder carded rounds of two-under 70 for 51st place.
Darren Fichardt completed the SA contingent in red figures with his one-under 71 in 67th position.
Thriston Lawrence and Zander Lombard shot even-par 72 for 84th on the leaderboard.
Jacques Kruyswijk and Oliver Bekker were down in 104th place after a pair of one-over 73s to open.
IOL Sport
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