A strong back nine carried Neil Schietekat to an opening eight-under-par 64 and a one-stroke lead in Wednesday’s first round of the SunBet Challenge hosted by Time Square at Wingate Park Country Club.

Schietekat teed off the first and turned in two under par before an impressive back nine of six birdies earned him the lead.

“I did hit my driver really good, so the par fives on the back nine gave me birdie opportunities that I took. I didn’t miss a single fairway on the back nine and made the putts that I needed to make,” said Schietekat.

“Overall, it was windy out there so my gameplan was to try and get the ball as close as possible to the green, but the cross winds made it quite tough.”

Schietekat’s 64 is a welcome return to form for the five-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, whose last victory came in 2023.

“It’s been a tough year and golf is a crazy game – you have some highs and you have some lows. You just have to remember the highs, because sometimes the lows last a little bit longer.”

James Mack is his nearest challenger following a 65 where he was the only player in the current top 10 not to drop a shot on day one of this Sunshine Tour event.

Jacques Blaauw, Jean-Paul Strydom and Martin Vorster are tied for third on six under par.

Mexico’s Luis Carrera, currently lying second on the Sunshine Tour’s Courier Guy Order of Merit, opened with a round of five-under-par 67, while Yurav Premlall, who lost in a play-off for last week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf title, is just four shots off the lead.