While he was three strokes off the first-round lead on Thursday in the first round of the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, MJ Daffue’s six-under-par 65 was good enough to have him in a share of 16th.
Daffue had seven birdies and just one bogey as 53 players went five-under or better in the 132-man field at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. Austin Smotherman of the United States and Australian Harrison Endycott led the way at nine-under, one shot clear of five players oin eight-under. There were eight players on seven-under, one ahead of Daffue and 12 other players.
Next-best of the South Africans in the field was Erik van Rooyen, who had seven birdies and two bogeys in his five-under-par 66 for a share of 29th in his first PGA Tour event of the new season after he played two events on the DP World Tour in his comeback from an injury-enforced layoff.
Garrick Higgo was in a share of 67th after carding an opening three-under-par 68.
