Fisher is in a four-way tie on 10 under alongside Nacho Elvira, Henni Du Plessis and Tristen Strydom at the MyGolfLife Open in South Africa; Esther Henseleit shares lead at the Honda LPGA Thailand with Nasa Hataoka and Su Oh
Thursday 10 March 2022 15:56, UK
Ross Fisher came close to making DP World Tour history on his way to grabbing a share of the early lead at the MyGolfLife Open in South Africa.
The former Ryder Cup player carded a ten-under 62 at Pecanwood Gold and Country Club, moving him top of the leaderboard alongside Nacho Elvira, Henni Du Plessis and Tristen Strydom.
Beginning on the back nine, Fisher eagled the par-five tenth and made four birdies in a six-hole stretch from the 12th on his way to reach the turn in 30.
Fisher picked up a shot at the first and made three straight birdies from the third, with the Englishman adding another at the par-five seventh to get to 11 under and increase the possibility of a sub-60 round.
A bogey at the par-three eighth derailed hopes of shooting only the second '59 round' in DP World Tour history, following on from Oliver Fisher at the 2018 Portugal Masters, while a par on his final hole saw Fisher end the day on 10 under.
Du Plessis made a three-birdie finish and Elvira carded seven consecutive birdies during a low-scoring opening day, while Spain's Pablo Larrazabal is a shot of the pace after a nine-under 63.
Laurie Canter is three off the pace following a blemish-free 65, with 126 of the 155-man field under par after the opening round.
Germany's Esther Henseleit carded the lowest round of her LPGA Tour career to grab a share of lead after a birdie-filled opening day at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Henseleit, making her debut in the no-cut event, registered nine birdies in a bogey-free start at Siam Country Club to join Nasa Hataoka and Su Oh at the top of the leaderboard.
Hataoka birdied four of her last five holes and Oh made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch around the turn to also get to nine under, requiring just 22 putts in her round, while China's Xiyu Lin lies a shot off the pace in fourth place.
"I just didn't make any big mistakes, I think," Henseleit, a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, said. "My irons were good. On my first nine I had many tap-in birdies and on the back nine I holed like two longer putts, but it was just stress-free golf."
France's Celine Boutier is part of the large group sitting two strokes back on seven under, alongside the likes of Canada's Brooke Henderson and Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen, with Carlota Ciganda and Danielle Kang both three off the pace.
Leona Maguire posted a blemish-free 70 and Mel Reid is tied 50th after a one-under 71, while world No 1 Jin Young Ko has skipped the event after winning the HSBC Women's Champions last week.
