Louis Albertse raced through the front nine of Royal Harare Golf Club on Thursday and finished the opening round of the Sunshine Tour’s with a seven-under-par 65 to lead the FBC Zimbabwe Open on one stroke.

Albertse made six birdies and didn’t drop a shot on the front nine to turn in 30. But he made two bogeys on the homeward stretch, with three birdies giving him 35 om the back nine. That put him a shot clear of last week’s winner, Herman Loubser, whose 66 came at Chapman Golf Club. The players will play a round at each of the two premier Harare courses ahead of the 36-hole cut. The final two rounds will be at Royal Harare.

Albertse rode a fast start in which he made six birdies in the first seven holes, and that set him up well enough to be able to ride the bogeys on the back nine. Loubser, on the other hand, was brimming with confidence after his maiden Sunshine Tour title last week at Arabella in the Western Cape, and he went bogey-free around Chapman with three birdies on each of the nines.

Behind Loubser, Keagan Thomas and Zambian veteran Madalitso Muthiya shared third on five-under. They both played at Royal Harare. In fifth on four-under were two players from Chapman in Albert Venter and rookie Ryan van Velzen, together with Luca Filippi who played at Royal.