Gauteng North junior Werner Deysel fired a sublime seven-under-par 65 at Bushwillow course to open up a yawning gap for his challengers in the first round of the Nomads SA Boys U17 Championship at Randpark Golf Club on 7 July.
The 15-year-old Woodhill golfer finished three strokes clear of Western Province junior Luca Filippi, and leads by four from reigning Nomads SA Boys U15 champion Wilco Nienaber from Free State and KwaZulu-Natal’s Luke Mayo.
Herman Loubser from Boland finished a further stroke adrift after signing for a 70.
Despite the icy conditions, Deysel was hot from the get-go and got the early jump on the field with four birdies in a row.
He stretched his advantage with another pair of birdies at the sixth and seventh holes and rallied with more gains at 14 and 18 after dropping his only shot at the par-four 11th.
Filippi showed incredible resilience as he pursued Deysel.
The 16-year-old Milnerton golfer turned two under, after birdies at the third and fourth holes, and a hat-trick of gains from the 10th put Filippi within striking distance of the leader. He lost the advantage with back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14, but put himself back in contention with a birdie 16 and pars at 17 and 18.
Nienaber, who also claimed the Nomads National Order of Merit in a three-way play-off at Durban Country Club in February, offset three bogeys with four birdies and an eagle at the par-five 12th hole.
Mayo notched five birdies early in his round, but gave two shots back with bogeys at holes 15 and 18, while Loubser answered three bogeys with five birdies.
