PRETORIA, March 17 – Oliver Goldhill fired a bogey-free 11-under 61 to take a four-shot lead after the first round of the Betway Big Easy Tour Final at Waterkloof Golf Club.
“I think I kept it somewhat steady off the tee,” Goldhill said after his round. “I made the putts I needed to make. But, I think my approach game was really solid today. I hit them really close and I didn’t need much to make birdie putts because it wasn’t like they were too far, and I rolled the ball on the right lines and they dropped.”
Goldhill began with a par on the first hole, followed by a birdie, then another par. He added birdies on the fourth and fifth, then two more on the seventh and eighth, reaching the turn at 31 without a blemish. 
After the turn, he birdied the 10th, 11th, and 12th, made par on 14, and then birdied three more holes to close the round at 61, giving him a strong four-shot cushion heading into Wednesday’s second round.
With 350 Order of Merit points available for the winner, Goldhill, currently fourth on the standings, is still chasing his first win. “It’s an important week, this,” he said. “It’s the final one of the season. My goal has always been simple from the beginning of the season, and that was to try and get a win. But, with that said, whatever comes, comes. All I can do is play good golf and let the golf take care of everything else.”
Second on the leaderboard is Tristan Leonard, who posted a 65 featuring six birdies, an eagle, and a single bogey. England’s Jake Bolton and South Africa’s Daniel Cronje share third place with rounds of 66.
The final features only the top 30 players on the Order of Merit, with the top 12 and six leading transformation players set to earn Sunshine Tour cards. The concluding round will be streamed live on the Sunshine Tour’s YouTube, Facebook, and X platforms from 08:00 on Thursday.
