Martin Vorster leads by one stroke after impressing on the opening day of the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa.
The South African fired eight birdies with a solitary bogey to sign for a seven under par round of 65 late on day one to lead by one from countrymen Jaco Prinsloo and MJ Viljoen who share second on six under.
Vorster, starting at the tenth, mixed two birdies with a bogey over his opening three holes before catching fire from the 14th with four birdies in a five-hole stretch.
The 24-year-old then added birdies at the second and the par three fourth to edge ahead on the first day of the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour season.
“I’m very pleased,” he said. “We kept it simple, had a goal of just executing routines and shots, and out here there’s lots of opportunities.
“The rough is up this week, and you can get a lot of jumpers out of there. I hit it well off the tee, played percentage golf to the flag and definitely made a few putts.
“On hole 15 I got up and down for birdie, then made a great putt on 16, two-putted 17 which is a tough hole, and on 18 I made a great up and down for birdie. That was a nice run before I made the turn.”
Vorster is making his fourth SDC Open appearance this week having finished tied seventh in his first outing at Zebula in 2022 and tied 20th 12 months ago.
The South African has his wife caddying for him this week, and says that, coupled with an enjoyment for bushveld golf, is making him feel at home in Limpopo.
“I love this place,” he added. “I enjoy being in the bushveld, and I enjoy this golf course, so it really feels like home this week.
“Having my wife on the bag is so special. She played golf at a very high level herself so she understands the game, and she understands me really well. She knows how to deal with me and my emotions, so we had a lot of fun out there.”
Englishman Callum Farr, who had earlier taken the opening tee shot of the new season, signed for a five under par 67 to share fourth place with Frenchman Julien Sale and South African duo Jaco Ahlers and Luke Brown.
The second round of the SDC Open gets under way tomorrow at 6:30am local time, with Vorster teeing off alongside countryman Trevor Fisher Jnr and Welshman Rhys Enoch.
