Sport

It's a Mad world for great Dane

DENMARK'S Morten Orum Madsen is on course for back-to-back wins in South Africa after yesterday taking the lead in the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Four days after winning his maiden European Tour title in the South African Open, Madsen carded a seven-under-par 65 at Leopard Creek to finish one ahead of local favourite Allan Versfeld and Portugal's Ricardo Santos.

Madsen carded eight birdies and one bogey as he continued his remarkable start to only his second full season on Tour, having finished 81st in last season's Race to Dubai.

Versfeld returned a flawless 66 thanks to an eagle and four birdies, while Santos did likewise and finished in style with his eagle coming on the par-five 18th.

Defending champion Charl Schwartzel was two shots further back on four under alongside England's Richard Finch, Scotland's David Drysdale and France's Victor Riu.

Ballyclare's Gareth Maybin got his 2014 season off to a good start with a three-under 69, which included five birdies and a double-bogey at the 10th, to lie in a share of eighth place.

Tour rookie Kevin Phelan was next best of the Irish contingent on two-under, with Damien McGrane and Peter Lawrie two shots further back in a share of 48th.

However, Michael Hoey and Simon Thornton will have to work hard to day to make the cut after opening rounds of 76 and 79 respectively.

The first day was all about Madsen though, just as it was on Sunday, and the Dane is happy to be riding the crest of a wave.

"Today it seemed easy but it definitely wasn't, it was pretty tough out there and the course was playing long with the wind," Madsen told reporters after his round.

"I played really solidly, I gave myself a lot of looks at birdie and a lot of shorter ones which was nice.

"I have a lot of confidence right now, I really believe I am going to hit good shots on pretty much every shot. I don't pull off all of them - I hit my tee shot on the seventh in the water - but the majority of them came off well and I rolled in some nice putts.

"I'm really, really happy with how I played, I heard it's tough to come out the week after you have won and play well but I felt pretty relaxed in the days leading up to the tournament and I just wanted to go out and see if I can put some solid shots together and I managed to do that today and put myself in a good position.

"Hopefully I can keep it up.

"I wasn't expecting to shoot 65 today, I knew I was playing well but I won last week so everything that happens this week or next week is going to be icing on the cake. I am just trying to enjoy the ride."

Schwartzel (left) was five-under for his first six holes and annoyed at not capitalising on such a blistering start, declining to speak afterwards.

The former Masters champion won his first European Tour title at Leopard Creek in 2005 and triumphed by 12 shots last year, just a week after winning the Thailand Open by 11 strokes.

The 29-year-old has also finished second four times in what he unsurprisingly describes as his favourite event - an event in which he was a cumulative 81-under-par before yesterday.

That total soon improved as Schwartzel started from the 10th with five birdies in his opening six holes, before a bogey on the 17th saw him reach the turn in 33.

A double-bogey on the first then dropped him back to just two under par and revived painful memories of last week's South African Open, where he held a three-shot lead early in the final round, but ran up a triple-bogey six on the sixth and also took a double bogey on the 10th.

The world number 21 did make three birdies in the last eight holes at Glendower to finish joint-fourth and also responded quickly here, holing from 12 feet for a birdie on the second and from around 50 feet for another on the par-three seventh.

Scotland's Chris Doak had been six-under-par with three holes to play, but bogeyed the seventh and double-bogeyed the eighth and had to settle for a three-under 69.