It may still be 2016 but Scott Jamieson got his 2017 European Tour campaign off to a purposeful start in the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.
The 33-year-old, who just avoided slipping through the circuit’s trapdoor after finishing 107th on the money list at the end of the season, hit the ground running in South Africa with an eventful five-under 67. That left him in a share of third, just a shot behind early frontrunners Paul Dunne and defending champion, Charl Schwartzel.
Jamieson, who claimed his maiden tour title on South African soil in the 2013 Nelson Mandela Championship, burst from the blocks with a birdie on the first, an eagle on the second and another gain on the third. He reeled off a further five birdies over the course of his round but his charge was tempered by a haul of four bogeys.
Jamieson’s fellow Scot, David Drysdale, began his challenge with a two-under 70 while Scott Henry, back on the tour full-time for the first time since 2013, was left cursing a late leaking of shots as he signed for a 72. Henry had been four-under through 12 but made a bogey on the 13th, a double-bogey on the 16th and another bogey on the last.
At the head of the field, Schwartzel, a four-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill title, made a birdie on his last hole to join Dunne on the six-under mark. The former Masters champion had been one-under at the turn but upped the ante coming home and picked up five birdies in an inward half of 32 to vault up the standings. "I wasn’t doing anything wrong, really, on the front nine but a couple of the shots just didn’t finish as I planned,” said Schwartzel of his slow start. "I made a good par putt on seven, and those putts are sometimes more important than the birdie putts. My game was feeling good, but it was just a matter of getting the execution I was looking for, and on the back nine it came together nicely."
In Australia, meanwhile, the opening round of the Australian PGA Championship, another event on the European Tour, was hampered by the weather. Andrew Dodt had set the target with a seven-under 65 while Scottish duo Stephen Gallacher and Bradley Neil got in before the suspension with level-par 72s.
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