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Sean Howell: Image Credit - Sunshine Tour Images

A NEAR-flawless opening round seven under-par 65 has given Sean Howell a two-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard at the Blue Label Series #4 taking place at Kyalami Country Club in South Africa.

The South African professional dropped just a single shot in his opening round to move clear of Travis Ladner, LB Boshoff, Wandre Synman and Regan Steyn who are all tied for second on five-under-par 67.

Howell’s opening round included eight birdies and one bogey. He made his first birdie on the par-five fourth hole before going on to shoot another one on the par-three sixth hole. He followed it up with another one on the par-five ninth. In his back nine, Howell made birdie on the par-four 10th hole before carding a bogey on the par-four 12th. He then followed it up with another birdie on number 13, a par-five hole. He made level par on number 14 then added another birdie on the par-four 15th. He then closed out his round in style, with back to back birdies on the 17th and 18th, capping off an impressive display. With four players tied for second, Jonathan Waschefort sits in sixth place on four-under while Ryan Tipping and Haydn Driver are tied for seventh on three-under. Tiago Swart, Kaylah Williams and Oliver Goldhill are tied for ninth position on two-under. Williams is the only amateur in the top 10 after round one.

The Bushveld Tour is a mini-pro tour for professional and competitive amateur golfers in South Africa and a feeder tour for players to prepare and make their way to the Sunshine Tour and other main tours around the world.