Dodd beats the heat

Wales’ Stephen Dodd found himself back in familiar territory on the first day of the Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg.

Dodd carded a flawless opening 65, seven under par, in soaring temperatures at Houghton to set the early clubhouse target in the £500,000 (€760,000) event.

The former amateur champion also led after the first round last year, but will be hoping for a better finish than his eventual tie for 30th 12 months ago, 11 shots behind winner Justin Rose.

“I played well towards the end of last year and I am starting to score well now, holing a few putts makes all the difference,” said the 36-year-old from Barry, who has made 10 trips to the qualifying school but has top 10 finishes in his last two events.

“It’s nice to have a good start. It builds a bit of confidence and I feel quite good at the moment.

“A win would be nice and I feel I can do it. We all believe we can win and that’s what we are all out here for. I had a good chance in Hong Kong (where he finished fourth), and a few putts here and there can make all the difference.”

Dodd was in the third match out at 6.50am local time and made the most of the early start before the temperature started to soar – it was 29 degrees by 10am.

“The breeze picked up a little and it’s nice to have that otherwise it would be too hot,” added Dodd, who won the Amateur championship back in 1989. “It was lovely this morning but the temperatures got quite severe the last few holes.

“You just have to grin and bear it. You know what you’re going to get.”

Dodd led by one from South African duo Callie Swart and Sean Farrell with England’s Paul Casey a shot further back after a 67.

Casey missed the cut last week in Cape Town after rounds of 78 and 71 that included a dreaded shank on the opening day, but rediscovered his usual aggressive approach to card six birdies and just one bogey.

“I made a few phone calls to the States to my mental coach Chris Dorris,” explained Casey, the 2001 European Tour rookie of the year. “It’s amazing how through a phone call to somebody not watching you play, you can diagnose what you need to do.

“The plan for the week is to be relaxed but aggressive and clear on what I need to do. I didn’t have that last week.

“I’m quite an aggressive player but I was almost too wary of what not to do last week.”

Playing partner Lee Westwood, who also missed the cut last week, battled back from a poor start to card a one under par 71, while former Open champion Paul Lawrie bogeyed his final hole in a 68.

Defending champion Rose was among the later starters and made a solid start with three pars followed by a birdie on the par five fourth to lie one under.