Herman Loubser has taken to specialising in getting off to fast starts. He carded a seven-under-par 65 on Monday to take a two-shot lead in the first round of the Big Easy IGT Challenge Tour’s Road to the Sunshine Tour #16 at Services Golf Club.
Despite dropped shots on three and 13, he made a packet of birdies, with five coming on the front nine and four on the back nine as he stretched clear of Erhard Lambrechts, Ryan Tipping, Michael Pfeifer and Wayne Strobel who all signed for five-under-par 67. There were five players on four-under and eight on three-under.
“The bogey on three came from a silly three-putt,” said Loubser, “and the one on 13, I hit the drive to just short of the green and hot a silly chip right over the back to a place where I was dead. So I managed to turn a birdie chance into a bogey, which was very frustrating.”
Services is a course that can be attacked, but, with a bit of wind up, Loubser was made to work harder than his score implies. “I do play well around here,” he said, “and I do think I can make lots of birdies. But the wind makes you think a little harder, and gives me the opportunity to shape some shots off the tees and get into my work looking for birdie opportunities.”
Loubser currently lies 12th on the Road to the Sunshine Tour points list, and with the top six players earning their Sunshine Tour cards after the play-offs in November, he wants to convert his recent form into a victory soon – and then keep on pressing till he regains his playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour.
