However, after an opening five-under-par 65 for a two-shot lead at the IGT Tour’s Killarney Open on Monday, the Copper Leaf pro is calling for more of the same ahead of the European Tour co-sanctioned Tshwane Open in two weeks.
“It’s early days, but that’s more like it,” gushed a delighted De Jager before dashing home from Killarney Country Club to tend to three-month old Luca.
Sunshine Tour rookie MJ Daffue and Matthew Southgate from England tied for second with a pair of 67s, while former Sunshine Tour winner Teboho Sefatsa and Eddie Taylor share fifth on four under.
Siphiwe Siphayi - a 2015 Vusi Ngubeni Q-School graduate - grabbed a seat on bus at three under alongside David Lamprecht, Wayne Stroebel, Neal Herman, Juan Langeveld, Norman Beggs and 2015 Sunshine Tour Q-School winner, Hennie Du Plessis.
De Jager got his round going with birdies at the third and fifth holes and reeled in further gains 12, 15, 16 and 18. Not even the lone bogey at 14 could dent his delight.
“To walk off the course with just one bogey on my card is a massive improvement for me. It’s been a long while since I’ve played such a solid round of golf.”
“I am driving the ball a lot better and hitting a lot more fairways and greens,” he said.
“I stuck a new putter in the bag after the Joburg Open and I putted like a dream. The set-up was pretty tough today, but the course is in great condition and I played with a confidence I haven’t felt for a while now.
“I never really had to scramble, which is pretty much all I did at the SA Open and Joburg Open. I missed the green at the par three, but I had a pretty impossible lie in the rough and couldn’t up-and-down, so the bogey didn’t bother me too much.
“The birdies at the two par fives were standard, but the ones on the par fours were quite long. I got some great pace and rhythm with the new putter. It feels good to be knocking a few in for a change.
“I’ve been playing the IGT Tour for a few years now when we are between events or if I am working on my game and it never fails to lift my game.
First round scores:
65 - Louis De Jager
67 - Matthew Southgate ENG, MJ Daffue
68 - Eddie Taylor, Teboho Sefatsa
69 - David Lamprecht, Wayne Stroebel, Neal Herman, Juan Langeveld, Norman Beggs, Hennie Du Plessis, Siphiwe Siphayi
70 - Simon Kruger, Brett Liddle, Johnathan Agren SWE, Antonio Rosado POR, Callum Mowat, Matt Carvell
71 - Michael Scholz, Pieter Moolman, Juan Swart
72 - Shaun van Tonder, Michael Kok (AMA), Dwayne Coetzee, Lourens Du Plessis, Arthur Horne SWZ, Sam Botham ENG, Pieter Kruger, Gerard Du Plooy, Stephan Erasmus (AMA), Louis Taylor, Danie Van Tonder, Andi Dill (AMA)
73 - Garth Wolter, Coert Groenewald, NJ Arnoldi, Wynand Dingle
74 - Matthew Adams (AMA), Hayden Griffiths (AMA), Christiaan Pretorius, Werner Van Niekerk, Sheldon Steyn ZIM, Neil Cheetham ENG, Louis Botha
75 - Mario Olivier (AMA), Ricardo Towell, John McClean NIR, CJ du Plessis, Mark Bright
76 - Derryn Mitri (AMA), Basil Wright, Terence Boardman, Conway Kunneke, Calvin Caldeira, Mohammed Ismail (AMA)
77 - Leon Visser (AMA), Dayne Moore ZAM, CJ Levey, Alastair Waddell ENG
78 - WM Coetzee (AMA), Etzard Grimbeek (AMA), Christiaan Engelbrecht, Terence Mogapi, Jason Froneman, Sipho Bujela, Devan Payne (AMA), Duan Nagel (AMA), Thabang Simon
79 - Houston Harwood (AMA), Brendan Britten NAM, Eric Nel (AMA)
80 - Andrej Skrbinsek (AMA), Romano Saincic, Bryce Myburgh, Justin Levy NLD, Christopher Constantinou (AMA)
81 - Liam Bezuidenhout (AMA), David Rebelo (AMA)
83 - Tristan Nel (AMA), Sam Metcalfe (AMA), Igor Milicic SRB
84 - Marc De Jager (AMA)
85 - Jordan Parsons (AMA), Estiaan De Jager (AMA)
86 - Nicklas Van Wyk (AMA)
92 - Emmanuel Roodt (AMA), Charles Grobler (AMA)
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
