Louis Oosthuizen made a solid start to the WGC-Workday Championship, shooting a three-under-par 69 for his opening round on Thursday.
Competing as one of six South Africans in the strong field at Concession Golf Club, Oosthuizen played with good composure, recovering on multiple occasions to remain in the hunt.
Oosthuizen rolled in a total of six birdies across his round, but had to deal with three drop shots in the process.
Opinion: Tiger’s recovery should run its course
He was, however, able to finish with a bang, making birdies on 16 and 17, which saw him sign off with a drastic improvement to his score for the first round.
Oosthuizen is three shots off the pace after the opening day’s play with Webb Simpson and Matthew Fitzpatrick leading the way on six under.
A stacked leaderboard after Round 1 @WGCWorkday:
T1. @WebbSimpson1 -6
T1. @MattFitz94
T3. @BKoepka -5
T3. @BillyHo_Golf
T3. @TheSergioGarcia
T3. @K_Kisner
T7. @WadeOrmsby -4
T7. Sungjae Im
T7. Cameron Smith
T7. @PReedGolf
T7. @JonRahmPGA
T7. @TonyFinauGolf— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2021
The pair was in brilliant form throughout their respective rounds, coming home with decent performances of 66.
Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner are all one stroke back after the first round and will start Friday’s action on five under par.
Defending champion Patrick Reed leads a group of six players on four under.
Erik van Rooyen settled for an opening-round one-under-par 71, alongside Compleat Golfer’s playing editor Brandon Stone, who arrived in time for his tee off on Thursday. Christiaan Bezuidenhout is also on one under after the first round with the trio sitting in T25.
Daniel van Tonder went over for his round, while JC Ritchie also struggled, signing off with a six-over 78.
