Friday 15 January 2016 10:52, UK
A final-hole birdie gave Justin Walters a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Joburg Open, where Anthony Wall and David Howell also made strong starts.
Walters' eight-foot gain on the par-five 18th closed a seven-under 65 and helped the South African to a narrow advantage over the chasing pack, on a day of low scoring across the two courses at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC.
The world No 438 raced up the leaderboard by following a front-nine 33 with a gain at the 10th, moving alongside clubhouse leaders Mark Williams and Michael Jonzon by picking up another shot at the 14th before taking the outright advantage late in his round.
Two-time European Tour winner Jonzon does not yet have his card for this season and was the last of the 210-player field to gain entry, but matched Williams' late birdie rally with three over his final four holes.
This week's event in Gauteng is part of the qualification programme for the Open Championship, with three places available to those non-exempt players finishing in the top 10.
Wall and Howell, who both secured their places St Andrews last year by finishing joint-second behind Andy Sullivan, also sit as part of a six-way tie for second after bogey-free starts to the week, with Welshman Rhys Davies part of the group a further stroke back.
Ross McGowan followed a hole-in-one at the par-5 fifth on the east course with four birdies in a five-hole stretch along the back nine to open with a 67, with Marcel Siem also two off the pace after dropping a stroke on his final hole.
Challenge Tour graduate Max Orrin had looked on course to set the early pace with two eagles and three birdies in his first 14 holes, but dropped three strokes over the closing holes to close a three-under 69 ahead of last week's SA Open champion Brandon Stone.
After accepting a late invitation in to this week's event, four-time major champion Ernie Els posted a steady one-under 71, while top seed Jaco Van Zyl is in danger of missing the cut following an opening-round 77 on the east course.
Watch the Joburg Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf
