Pretoria: Mena Tour regular Matias Calderon shot five-under 67 to sit two shots off the pace after the opening round of The Roar — the third and final leg of the Sunshine Big Easy Tour/Mena Tour co-sanctioned South African swing — at Waterkloof Golf Club, on Wednesday.
Starting on the 10th tee, the Chilean picked up four shots in his last eight holes after making the turn at one under to move into a five-way for fourth as Kenya’s Stefan Engell Anderson and South African duo Daniel Hammond and JJ Senekal carded matching 67s to set the early pace.
Bolstered by an eagle at the par-five seventh, Cyril Suk returned a 68 for a share of ninth, one clear of a nine-man group which included three Mena members — Fredrik From, Antonio Costa and Jamie Elson.
Rising Mena star Arkesh Bhatia, who opened with a 70, produced the highlight of the day as he holed his approach to the 12th for an eagle two and followed it with five birdies in his last six holes, the late birdie blitz propelled the Dubai-based prodigy to second in the amateur division, just two back off South Africa’s Karabo Mokoena.
Craig Hinton, the winner of last year’s Mena Order of Merit and fellow Englishmen Craig Kieswetter and Jordan Garnish were tied for 38th along with nine others after signing for matching 71s on a day when 48 players broke par.
