Rising starlet and GolfRSA National Squad member, Yurav Premlal continued on the fine form he’s been on since the return of professional golf, and his untainted six-under-par 66 has him leading a strong field after round one of the IGT Chase #4 at Copperleaf, The Els Club.
Premlall has not finished lower than fifth in all three tournaments that have been played since golf returned after the coronavirus pandemic forced everything to a halt. In fact, he seems to be on an upward trajectory because his T5 finish in the first event at Modderfontein was followed by an even better fourth-place finish. And then last week at Reading Country Club, the teenager walked away with a third-place finish to signal some kind of peak of form.
At Copperleaf on Monday, his opening round consisted of four birdies and an eagle to sign for an unblemished 66 and take a two-stroke lead into the second round.
“It was nice to get off to a good start this week on a very demanding golf course,” said the 17-year old teenager, “I played some really solid golf from tee to green today hitting 16 greens which is crucial to score on this course. Since the resumption of play, my putting and driving have really found a way to become consistent and I feel like I’m a lot more in control of my game in those departments.
“Copperleaf is going to be a real test of driver accuracy and Iron play especially if the wind starts to gust, it has a tendency to around here”
That and the fact that a whole of bunch of experienced players lurk dangerously, a combination which could make things rather interesting for Premlall and for golf fans in general.
Making their presence felt on the IGT stage and with some big performances, local man, Blaauw, Danie van Tonder and Dylan Mostert – among other big-name Sunshine Tour campaigners making up this field – share the second spot with amateurs Werner Deyzel, Jacques van der Merwe and Dawid Opperman at four-under.
A shot further, the duo of Cameron Moralee, a winner on this tour and Marco de Beer will feel they have a real shot at unseating Premlall at the summit, by the end end of round two after they both signed for a three-under 69 in round one. Last week’s winner at Reading, Vaughn Van Deventer is in a five-way tie for fifth at two-under-par with Kyle McClatchie and amateur Samual McKenzie among others.
