Pettersson leads with opening 64

Carl Pettersson fired an 8-under-par 64 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the South African Open in Durban.

The Swede birdied two of the final three holes to finish two shots clear of a six-strong chasing pack, while Retief Goosen was one further back on 5-under-par, but tournament favourite Ernie Els struggled to find his rhythm as he finished on 1-over-par.

Pettersson enjoyed benign conditions early on as he set the pace with a superb bogey-free round, turning in 31 before coming home in 33 to be 8-under-par.

Qualifier Tim Clark, James Kingston, Ashley Roestoff, Des Terblanche and Alastair Forsyth were all on 6-under, while US Open champion Retief Goosen is right in contention after a 5-under 67.

Former Open champion Paul Lawrie finished a stroke back on 4-under-par, but Els struggled all day and was lucky not to do worse than 73.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page