He teed off for his first round early on Thursday, January 12.
It was South Africa’s own Trevor Fisher Jnr who led during the early proceedings with an impressive five birdies in a row, which saw him ascend to the top of the leader board at the City of Ekurhuleni-hosted event.
Fisher has finished in the top 15 in each of his last five appearances in the SA Open and paid testament to this as he made seven birdies in his first 11 holes to get six under, just two clear of McIlroy and Brett Rumford.
Meanwhile, McIlroy, 27, is playing in the event for the first time since 2009, when he agonisingly missed out on a play-off spot.
McIlroy is playing in the country as a return favour to event host Ernie Els, who teed up in the 2014 Irish Open which was hosted by McIlroy’s foundation.
The event’s defending champion is Brandon Stone, who finished two strokes ahead of fellow South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
The event’s multiple winners include the game’s legendary Gary Player, who leads the way with a record 13 wins. Fellow South Africans Bobby Locke, Sid Brews and George Fotheringham follow with 9, 8 and 5 wins respectively. Ernie Els rounds off the top five winners with also 5 wins next to his name.
The Advertiser will release the final results next week.
