Despite the challenging conditions, the amateurs showed glimpses of promise. Keegan Shutt, reflecting on a round that left him three-over-par, expressed mixed feelings. “I struggled today, I was four-over through 10.I managed to bring it back to two-over through 13, then just slipped out on five, six, and seven for birdie and then that kind of killed it and I just finished off with a bogey on nine which didn’t help me at all, finishing three-over for the day. “The game was there, I just got unlucky in some places and I just busted and fell and it was that type of day. I played well, but the score doesn’t show how I played but hopefully tomorrow if I play the same the score will show how I played,” said Shutt. Kelvin Muchenje (+11), who teed off at 06:20 am, said the early start was a major factor in his performance. “My first round was good, its just that we started at a very nasty time at 06.20am. We played the first five holes in cold conditions but the greens were nice in the morning. Thereafter, I think that’s where I lost it. I dropped so many shots in the first five holes,” said Muhenje. Meanwhile, at the top of the leaderboard, seasoned South African pro Hennie Otto grabbed a narrow one-stroke lead after carding an impressive six-under-par 66 in the first round.