Light storms round Lusaka’s back nine

The par-73 layout made for a challenging day’s play, with low scores hard to come by, but Light made it look easy with three eagles on the three par-fives on the back nine, and ended the day two shots off the pace set by Wallie Coetsee.

“I had a bit of a shocker on the front nine,” Light said afterwards.

“But I hit a couple of fairways and hit a couple of really good long-iron shots and I was happy to make the putts.”

Light struggled over the opening nine holes, conceding four bogeys, before making his fifth on the blazing back nine.

Light acknowledged that he had benefited from some good fortune on the tournament’s opening day.

“I got a bit lucky. I was really close,” he said. “My three eagle putts… one was maybe two metres and the others were three feet. I ran those long irons up to the greens and I had a good bounce or two.”

He shared second place with Jared Harvey, who came closer than anyone else to matching the bogey-free play of Coetsee.

Harvey made just one bogey, on the 15th, where the pin was stuck away on the right, behind a green-side bunker.

Jean Hugo, PH McIntyre and Jake Redman were in a three-way share of fourth on four-under-par, and there was a large group of seven players in a share of seventh at three-under-par 70.

Light, who is a rookie on the Sunshine Tour, won on the development Sunshine Big Easy Tour at Houghton Country Club in April, and showed his improvement as he battled off the effects of his disastrous start which had three bogeys in his first four holes.

“I just stayed positive,” he said. “Just don’t give in until the last shot. I was swinging well, and I thought with four par-fives left, I could bring it back with birdies on each of them. It ended up a bit better than that.”

Madalitso Muthiya was the leading Zambian player with a well-constructed two-under-par 71 which included three birdies and a single dropped shot on the eighth.

– Sapa