It didn’t look much like MJ Daffue was returning from a short break on Thursday as he opened up his campaign in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Rex Hospitals Open in Raleigh, North Carolina with a six-under-par 65 to be in a share of fourth after 18 holes.

Daffue has all but sewn up his PGA Tour card after two consecutive third-place finishes in his last two tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour rounding out a season-long display of consistency which has three other top-10 finishes, two more in the top 20 and just one missed cut way back in February.

He made an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys on Thursday to be two shots off the lead which was held by Germany’s Jeremy Paul on eight-under. Paul led by one from the Americans Davis Thompson and Patrick Newcomb, and Daffue shared fourth with Taylor Dickson of the United States.

Daffue started his round on the 10^th, and promptly made four birdies on the trot from the 12^th. He made his first bogey ahead of the turn, on the ninth. He made his second on the fifth, but bookended it with birdies on the fourth and sixth. He rounded things off in style with an eagle-three on the ninth.

Elsewhere in the United States, it was a poor start in the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour for the two South Africans in the field as Garrick Higgo and Erik van Rooyen carded three-over-par 75 each, to be in a share of 84^th. That was eight shots off the six-way share of the lead held by Cameron Young, Luke List, Cameron Smith, KH Lee, Mackenzie Hughes and Davis Riley.