By Matthews Mfubu
Christiaan Burke credited his knowledge of the Serengeti Golf Estate’s layout for his opening round of 64 which gave him a two-stroke lead in the Bushveld Golf Tour’s two-day tournament held there.
Burke powered himself to the summit of the leaderboard on Thursday after some scintillating golf at a place he knows so well and feels comfortable at.
“I have played this course so much that I know what to do to maintain a good score,” said Burke after his strong start in Kempton Park.
He opened with four birdies on the trot as he began his charge for the top of the leaderboard in this 36-hole event. Then, on five and six, Burke had to make do with a pair of pars as he tried to build on a solid start. He made further gains thereafter as he birdied both the seventh and the eighth before dropping a shot on the ninth.
“It was a bit windy in the beginning but I started my round nicely with four birdies,” Burke noted, “I was hitting my driver well and putting great and I think that helped me a lot around the course today.”
Burke was cautious not to drop another shot on the homeward nine and after a nerve-easing par on the 10th, he made a birdie on the 11th to keep going. He was content with taking pars on the next four holes but popped up with another birdie on 17 before going par and birdie to close off a stunning round of golf in Ekurhuleni.
He is aware of the chasing pack, led by the ever-impressive Yurav Premlall who is just two shots off the pace after a round-one 66.
“I’m just going to go out there and enjoy it,” said Burke who hails from the North West, “because, as I have said, I have played here many times before and I know what I have to do.”
Kiera Floyd, Kyle McClatchie, Ryan Van Velzen and Thomas Standemo are tied for third and just three shots off Burke’s lead. They carded 67s to place themselves within a reasonable distance from the leader.
Marcel Steyn-Scholtz takes up solo seventh after an opening round of 69 while Bradley Diggeden, Jonathan Waschefort, Michael Kok and Zebastien De Jager share eighth on 2-under-par.
