Just two holes of tournament play after winning last weekend, JC Ritchie was at it again. This time, it was with a hole-in-one on the second hole at The Woods at Mount Edgecombe as he roared around in nine-under-par 61 to grab the first-round lead of the Sunshine Tour’s Jonsson Workwear Open.
The tournament, co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, features one round on each of the Mount Edgecombe layout and Durban Country Club ahead of the cut, and the final two rounds will be played at Durban Country Club.
“I had 217 yards,” said Ritchie of his ace. “I used a five-iron, and it was a pretty cool way to get things going this week.” He had a hole-in-one in the Joburg Open, and another in a practice round for the Dimension Data Pro-Am, and this one set off something of a scoring spree.
He followed it with birdies on the third and fourth, and then bided his time with pars all the way to the turn, and then beyond that as he reached the 13th still at four-under. Then he made eagle on the 14th, and followed that with three consecutive birdies on 15, 16 and 17 as he raced home in 30.
That gave him a two-stroke lead over Rupert Kaminski, whose seven-under 63 also came at The Woods. Kaminski has been threatening for some time, and his bogey-free start will give him confidence for the week.
There were five-payers on six-under-par, including the top two scores from the par-72 Durban Country Club. They came from MJ Viljoen and Germany’s Christopher Mivis. The players from Mount Edgecombe who were on six-under were Blake Windred of Australia, and Trevor Fisher Jnr and Jbe’ Kruger of South Africa.
For Ritchie, it’s a case of just trying to stay on the crest of the wave. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a better round of ball-striking,” he said. “The course was great, and, in the weather conditions, it was definitely gettable.
“I haven’t played that much on Durban Country Club, but I love the course, and I’m looking forward to see how I can score on it.”
If he carries on the way he is playing now, he might be tough to catch.
