Cool Frost fires course record 65 to set pace in Open qualifier

HOME favourite David Frost showed there is no substitute for experience after registering a course-record 65 in the first round of qualifying for the 2005 Open Championship.

Now 45-years-old, relaxed and without the pressures of having to keep a tour card, Frost used his new found calmness to match the wind-still conditions at the normally blustery Atlantic Beach Golf Club and take the first step to qualifying for the 134th Open.

The veteran is one of 33 hopefuls trying their luck at the International Final Qualifying Africa tournament, the first of five qualifying events for the St Andrews showdown in July, and is currently first in line to grab one of the three qualifying spots on Friday.

Frost, who now spends more time with his family in Stellenbosch where he runs his own wine farm, carried through the form from the Dunhill Championship, where he tied sixth and was in contention until the last few holes, and is looking forward to cementing his appearance at the Open, where he last competed in 2000.

"I am quite eager to get back to St Andrews," he said. "If it works out that way I'll be very pleased. I'm just going to try my hardest and take it one shot at a time and see what happens. I'd love to get in, sure, but there's a long way to go and I just need to play my game."

Frost leads the field by one shot from Swiss Andre Bossert and South African Louis Oosthuizen, who both shot 66.

Two shots further back are fellow South Africans Omar Sandys and Titch Moore, while Scotland's Doug McGuigan fired a 69 to join a group of players on three under par, with Welshman Mark Mouland a further shot back.