Johannesburg — It’s not often that a player shoots nine-under 63 and is left frustrated, but that was exactly the case for SA’s James Hart du Preez as he claimed a one-shot lead in the first round of the Steyn City Championship on Thursday.
The 26-year-old bogeyed the last two holes in a row to conclude his round, to end his chances of shooting a magical 59. Du Preez was 11-under after 16 holes, and two more gains to finish would have seen him break the 60 barrier.
Instead, he three-putted from close range at the par four 17th, his penultimate hole, and then took another three shots from the edge of the green on the par three 18th for another bogey to finish.
“When I missed the birdie putt from just off the green on 17 I knew the chance of shooting 59 had gone,” said Du Preez.
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“It’s weird to think about shooting 59, and then I think a bit of my focus lapsed because I knew I’d have to make a hole-in-one at the last. But golf is so difficult, when you have days like this - you don’t question it.
“When I birdied six, I did the maths and knew if I birdied the next four I could shoot 59.”
Du Preez leads by one shot from three players on eight-under 64, including his compatriots Shaun Norris and Jaco Ahlers as well as Italy’s Nino Bertasio.
Ranked 1415th in the world, Du Preez said he did not feel pressure when thoughts of breaking 60 in the DP World Tour event entered his mind.
The @DPWorldTour heads to @SteynCity_Golf for the first time this week.
— Michael Sherman (@Golfhackno1) March 16, 2022
Have a look at an aerial view of the course here: pic.twitter.com/B6pmZmPUJ1
“There’s a lot more pressure-filled situations in the world today than playing golf. With us to be here playing golf on a fantastic course, trying to shoot 59 is not pressure. I was just trying to have fun.”
With five missed cuts in his seven events in 2022, there was little form to speak of for Du Preez coming into the event. However, Du Preez said he had good reason to feel confident.
“If you look at my results the last couple months they haven’t been good. I played a tournament two weeks ago and missed the cut, but after the second round I messaged a couple of people to say I’d found my game. I played well for three days last week.
“I didn’t think about shooting a low one today. But after four holes, I did the calculations and I had already holed about 100ft of putts. To start off like that, you just keep going with that momentum.”
IOL Sport