Description
Haydn Porteous during round one of the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player: Image Credit - Sunshine Tour Images

HAYDN Porteous and Tyran Snyders made strong starts to the first Sunshine Tour event of 2026 as they share the lead after the opening round of the Cell C Challenge in Honour of Gary Player taking place at Killarney Country Club in South Africa.

The pair both carded opening rounds of six-under-par 64 to hold a one-shot advantage over Xander Basson, Robson Chinhoi, Jason Roets, Deon Germishuys, Pierre Viallaneix and David Amm, who all returned five-under-par 65s.

Porteous produced a flawless opening round, collecting six birdies. On the front nine, the South African professional picked up four birdies, making gains at the first, fifth, eighth and ninth holes to turn in 31. After the turn, he added two more birdies at the 10th and 11th for an inward 33, rounding off a solid day’s performance. Snyders, meanwhile, also enjoyed a strong round, dropping just a single shot. He was faultless on the front nine, opening with an eagle at the first hole, followed by birdies at the second, third, fifth and ninth to record a superb outward 29. After the turn, his only blemish came at the 13th, before he recovered with a birdie at the 15th to post an inward 35.

With Porteous and Snyders sharing the lead and a six-way tie for third place, five golfers share ninth position on four-under-par 66. They are MJ Viljoen, Yurav Premlall, Conner Mackenzie, Nikhil Rama and Justin Walters.