European Tour: Stenson, Van Zyl Lead at Nedbank

Henrik Stenson holds a share of the lead at Gary Player Country Club. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Henrik Stenson has been feeling a bit under the weather of late (stop me if you’ve heard that one before), but it didn’t seem to affect his play during Thursday’s first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player Country Club. The steely Swede buckled down and shot a bogey-free 66, good for a share of the first round lead.

Stenson, the world’s No. 7 player, was hot out of the gate with birdies on the first two holes and never let up. After going out with a 31, he circled one more on 10 and finished with at six-under.

While Stenson was rock-solid today, he was still affected by illness. “I’ve been in bed with the flu for three days, and after I had to pull out of the pro-am on Tuesday I probably had a five percent chance of playing,” he said after his round. “I felt quite a bit better this morning and the doctor didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t play.”

He did go on to say that his legs felt “like jelly” at one point, so keep an eye on that over the next few days. Otherwise, it’s been an ideal start for Stenson.

He’s not alone at the top of the leaderboard, though. Jaco Van Zyl, who’s notched two top 10s in his last four European Tour starts, is also there on the strength of his own bogey-free round of 66. The native South African shot a 33 on each nine, enjoying an extremely steady day.

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In particular, Van Zyl was lights-out with the flatstick. “I hit ten out of 14 fairways and a couple I missed weren’t in trouble, just in the first cut,” he said. “There were a couple of short irons into par fours that I would’ve liked to get a bit closer, but the main thing is the 27 putts.”

Of course, Stenson and Van Zyl weren’t the only ones who impressed on Thursday. Defending champion Danny Willett also put himself in a great position for the rest of the week. The Englishman went bogey-free for a five-under 67, good for sole possession for third place.

Marc Leishman and Branden Grace are another stroke back at four-under. The former hit one of the shots of the day on the first hole, getting his ball to within four feet after hitting from beside a cart path. Grace, the only man in the top five who’s made a bogey this week, is looking to win his first Nedbank after falling just short at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship.