Jean-Paul Strydom led 10 qualifiers into the Dimension Data Pro-Am on Tuesday when he carded a five-under-par 67 on the Montagu Course at Fancourt.
It was a bogey-free effort from Strydom, the winner of the 2019 Tour Championship on the Sunshine Tour, and it gives him a chance to go one better than his second place behind Jaco Ahlers in the 2018 edition of the tournament. The event, played over each of Outeniqua, Montagu and The Links at Fancourt, is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge Tour.
Strydom made birdies on the second and the fourth in the qualifier, and then he had three on the homeward nine, on the 10th, 14th and 18th.
He shared five-under with veteran Divan van den Heever and Herard du Plooy, and that trio was one clear of American Clancy Waugh, Franklin Manchest, Sean Cronje and Jovan Rebula.
With seven players on three-under, and only three spots still available, Christiaan Burke, Fredrik From of Sweden and Kyle McLatchie survived the play-off, consigning Jake Roos, Danie van Niekerk, Samuel Simpson and Joe Long of England to the reserve list.
The main tournament tees off on Thursday.
