Murless makes his mark

South African Mark Murless was the early pacesetter at the Joburg Open today heading a quartet of players by two shots after completing his round at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.

Playing on the West Course, the 31-year-old fired seven birdies and a bogey for a round of 65 on a wet day in Gauteng, with rain making playing conditions slightly tougher than usual.

His biggest challenge came from compatriots Garth Mulroy and Ryan Reid, along with German Sven Struver, who all completed their opening 18 holes with four-under 67s, while Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal was also four shots to the good through 12 holes.

But it was Murless, who made the biggest impact with his round that started with two pars, before a birdie on the par-four third and bogey on the next left him level after four holes.

He then began his charge, which included five straight birdies between nine and 13 to put himself in command after day one.

Pre-tournament tips including Louis Oosthuizen and South African Airways Open champion James Kingston were a further stroke back through 16 and 12 holes respectively, along with Englishman Ross McGowan.

Defending champion Ariel Canete from Argentina is on level par after 16 holes, while the biggest name in the tournament, Darren Clarke, had a slow start with two bogeys on the front nine, before pulling back to level par after 11 holes.