Benjamin Follett-Smith will take a three-stroke lead into the second round of the NTT Data Pro-Am brought to you by Standard Bank after impressing in round one at Fancourt Golf Estate.
After heavy rain on Thursday led to a cancellation of the opening day and the tournament being reduced to 54 holes, the Zimbabwean, among the early starters, signed for a bogey-free 12 under par round of 60 on a low-scoring opening round in George to lead by one from South African JJ Senekal, who occupies solo second.
The 31-year-old, who teed off on the tenth, made two birdies in his opening three holes before putting together a run of eight birdies in nine holes around the turn to move to ten under for the day. An eagle on the par five eighth left the Zimbabwean needing a birdie on the last to shoot a 59, however, a missed green on the ninth meant he had to settle for par and an opening round of 60.
“One more birdie would have been great, but you can’t ask for much more than 60,” he said.
“With the conditions being wet, being able to be aggressive really helped and I gave myself a lot of five-footers and everything really paid off. I got everything out of the round.
“I didn’t really think 59 was on the cards until I made the eagle on my 17th hole. That kind of got me thinking it could be close.
“That chip on the last needed to go in and I wasn’t going to be aggressive; I didn’t want to make a bogey. A bogey-free round is also good.”
Follett-Smith, who played 23 events on the 2025 Road to Mallorca before earning DP World Tour status at Final Stage Qualifying School last year, has made six starts on Golf’s Global Tour since the start of the season.
The two-time HotelPlanner posted a season-high finish at the Qatar Masters last week, and believes his game is heading in the right direction.
“My game is trending,” he added. “Last week in Qatar, tee-to-green, I was really good. Unfortunately, I just didn’t make enough putts. The guys are extremely good, so you must have everything going for you to compete.
Follett-Smith, who will tee it up on the Montagu course during Saturday’s second round, is eager to extend his lead as he eyes a second win in the Rainbow Nation following his triumph at the Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open back in 2023.
“It’s a completely new golf course tomorrow, so I’m not going to change anything.
“I’m going to be confident and aggressive and hopefully extend the lead. I’m just going to try to push on and see how far I can get.”
Gerhard Pepler from South Africa and Irishman Max Kennedy share third on seven under par. Nine players, including SDC Open winner MJ Viljoen, share fifth on six under.
The second round of the NTT DATA Pro-Am brought to you by Standard Bank gets under way at 6:45am local time on Saturday with Follett-Smith teeing off at 11:42am alongside South African Tyran Snyders.
