American John Catlin fired his way to the top of the leaderboard to join pacemaker Dylan Mostert of South Africa on seven under par 64 apiece at the close of round one of the 2023 Magical Kenya Open Presented by Absa at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course on Thursday.
Catlin played a bogey-free round that included five birdies and eagle three at the par five-18th, having made his birdies on the sixth, 10th, 11th, 15th and 16th.
“I’m very pleased. I feel like I left some out there on my back nine. I got off to a really hot start and just made some bad swings, I didn’t take advantage of the par fives and hit a really bad lay-up on seven. It was a good round of golf, I left a few out there for sure.
“It’s nice way to build some momentum. I feel like I’ve been close, just a poor swing here, misjudgement here, that’s all it takes out here. It’s very fine margins. I was able to take two weeks off, put some work in on my game and it feels like it’s starting to pay off, so I’m really excited about that,’’ said Catlin.
He said he felt very comfortable (in the heat) after five years in Asia.
“I was in Thailand the last two weeks, I stayed there after Amata Spring. It feels quite nice. I was wearing the bucket hat and sleeves in Thailand, so this feels nice. I had a jumper on when I was warming up, so this is quite nice for me,’’ added the American.
However, setting the pace from the morning draw, South Africa’s Mostert had fired birdies on the third, fourth, and sixth in the front nine and things looked fine until he dropped a shot at the ninth where most of the players were actually to the green from the tee.
He however picked up three birdies in a row from the 10th to the 12th, then wound up the round with birdies on the 16th and at the home green to set the ball rolling for the tournament.
“I’m very pleased. I played very solid today, kept the momentum going throughout the round. Made some good putts, hit a lot of greens. The greens are small, so if you’re hitting greens you’re going to have a lot of chances. I manage to make a few putts, I’ll just keep doing the same thing. I’m excited for tomorrow.
“The greens are quite soft in the morning, they definitely firm up throughout the day. As soon as the wind picks up and the heat gets up they firm up and get faster, much tougher. It’s definitely an advantage to play early in the morning.
“I’m just grateful to be here, I got an invite. It fits nicely in my schedule and I’ll have three DP World Tour events in a row now, going to South Africa. I’ll finish the Sunshine Tour season off and then start on the Challenge Tour,’’ said Mostert.
The two leaders were just a shot better than Datch pro Wil Besseling and Frenchman Pierre Pineau who both shot six under par 65 to position themselves in good attacking position as the tournament marks its half way stage on Friday.
Meanwhile Spain’s Borja Visto shot five under par 66 to lead a group of five while nine others led by Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura were on four under 67.
It will be a do or die for many as all will be battling to make the second round cut.
