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Benjamin Follet-Smith: Image Credit - Sunshine Tour

Benjamin Follet-Smith carded a brilliant, flawless eight-under-par 63 to take the first-round lead at The Fortress Invitational at Houghton Golf Club.

Follet-Smith holds a three-shot lead over the trio of Jonathan Broomhead, Daniel van Tonder and Stals Swart.

The Zimbabwean professional started his front nine with eagles at the third and fifth holes before going on to birdie the ninth for an outward 31.

After the turn, he added further birdies at the 10th, 12th and 17th holes for an inward 32.

“I had a really nice start, and staying patient was the key part. The eagle on the third hole got my round going. Tee to green my game has been good for a while now and today it definitely paid off. I was aggressive off the tee, relying on my long game. It was nice to get a low round in.

“It’s my first start for the 2026/2027 season on the Sunshine Tour. For the last two years I’ve been playing most of my golf in Europe. I love supporting the Sunshine Tour. This is where I started my career and I will always come back and support the Tour as they do so much for us golfers. It’s close to home for me being from Zimbabwe and nice to have world-class tournaments and world-class competitiveness on the Sunshine Tour,” said Follet-Smith (via Sunshine Tour).

The second-placed trio carded five-under-par 66s.

Haydn Porteous, Lyle Rowe and Luke Brown share fifth place on four-under-par 67, while Dylan Mostert, Robson Chinhoi, Shaheed Patel, Jaco Van Zyl and Graham van der Merwe are tied for eighth on three-under-par 68.