James Kingston shrugged off a few unproductive holes to nail five birdies and an eagle for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay Classic at the Humewood links golf course in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.

With the wind gusting up to around 25km/h by midday, the Sunshine Senior Tour professionals found themselves with some testing conditions in the first tournament under the senior banner in the city.

Kingston, winner of the recent SA Senior Open in Plettenberg Bay, topped the leaderboard with a 69, followed by Andre Cruse and Rodger Wessels, who shot opening round 70s.

A short further back were Mike Scholz and Chris Williams, with Callie Swart and Neil Cheetham returning even-par 72s.

Back at Humewood for the first time in six years, when he played a Winter Tour event, Kingston said it was a matter of adjusting to the conditions created by the seaside links course.

“I was happy with the final result because none of us have played here for a while and you have to get used to the windy conditions and the type of links golf which faces you,” he said.

“The greens were also slightly different to what we have known over the years so it was a matter of becoming accustomed to the conditions.”

As the wind picked up during the day, Kingston said it “wasn’t a gale, but it was enough to get your attention”.

“You had to focus on what you were doing and sometimes you just have to make sure you that you keep the ball in play into the wind and eliminate mistakes, and then try to create chances on the downwind holes or the par-fives.

“But sometimes it’s not so easy downwind either, so you have to be careful.”

After opening with a bogey on the 10th hole – he played the back nine first – Kingston birdied the 15th and 16th holes and then hit the perfect approach on the par-five 17th for an eagle.

Turning in three-under, he said a poor tee shot on the second hole led to a double bogey, and he dropped another shot on the fifth, but birdies on Nos 4, 6 and 7 kept him just ahead of the chasing pack.

Both Cruse and Wessels shot 33 on the front nine, but could not capitalise on the back, mixing birdies and bogeys to finish one shot off the pace.

Cruse was able to find six birdies, but four bogeys rather spoilt those efforts, while Wessels’ five birdies were offset by three bogeys.

Leading scores:

69 – James Kingston
70 – Andre Cruse, Rodger Wessels
71 – Mike Scholz, Chris Williams
72 – Callie Swart, Neil Cheetham
73 – Paul Marks, Mark Bright, Kenneth Dube, Sean Burger, Ben Fouche, Dick Ndebele

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE

Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

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