Dean Burmester got a solid enough start in Thursday as he ventured on to the PGA Tour. He carded a one-under-par 70 at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club in the opening round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Burmester made four birdies and three bogeys in his round on the first of three courses on which the tournament is played. His other two rounds will be played on Spyglass Hill Golf Course and at Pebble Beach Golf Links, before the cut is made and the final round takes place at Pebble Beach.
His one-under-par total put him in a share of 74th place, one shot behind the best of the South Africans in the field, Dylan Frittelli, who signed for a two-under-69 at Monterey Peninsula. Christiaan Bezuidenhout was on level-par at Monterey Peninsula, Charl Schwartzel on two-over at Pebble Beach and Dawie van der Walt on three-over at Spyglass Hill.
Other South Africans in action in the US included Paula Reto and Ashleigh Buhai in the LPGA’s 54-hole LPGA Drive On Championship in Florida. Reto opened with a one-under 71 for a share of 51st, six off thelead shared by Marina Alex of the US and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka. Buhai was on level-par in a share of 63rd.
In the Korn Ferry Tour’s Panama Championship in Panama City, MJ Daffue carded a first-round one-under 69 to be in a share of 47th, five off the lead held by Jimmy Stanger of the United States.
