- Sami Valimaki hit a course record of 62 at Mont Choisy Le Golf.
- JC Ritchie was one stroke farther down in fourth place.
- Bekker shot a round without making bogie and had 3 birdies on front nine.
Sami Valimaki of Finland hit a course record of 62 at Mont Choisy Le Golf to lead the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open by two strokes after round one, less than three weeks after placing second in his bid for a second DP World Tour championship.
Vlimki led his playing companion Oliver Bekker, who was eight under par, by birdying more than half of the holes (10 of the 18) and making no bogeys. At the season-opening Joburg Open last month, he placed second.
In 2020, Valimaki won the Oman Open, her lone victory on the DP World Tour.
South African JC Ritchie was one stroke farther down in fourth place, with Frenchman Pierre Pineau third at seven under.
Motivated by some fantastic putting With a birdie at the second and a run of four straight strokes from the fifth, Valimaki was out in 31. He made long putts on the fifth and sixth greens’ sloping terrain, as well as one from the edge of the eighth green.
The Finn reached seven-under with a brilliant up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the following hole after hitting a wonderful pitch up to the 12th green to set him a short-range birdie. For the second time today, he made it four straight holes with birdies on holes 14 and 15. Although his eagle putt barely missed the hole on the par-five last, he was on in two, and a tap-in birdie was enough for a record-breaking score of 10-under-par.
He remarked, “It was a really fantastic round. “I putted naturally quite well and made some longer putts, which I haven’t made in a couple of weeks, so it’s fantastic to get things going.
“We had a terrific day because Oli (Bekker) played a pretty solid round as well. I believe that finding the right pace and rhythm on the greens was the key to the day.
Bekker shot a round without making a bogie and had three birdies on the front nine before a strong back nine. He was able to follow his partner’s lead thanks to four birdies in five holes starting at the 12th, and he matched Valimaki’s gain at the last hole to card a 64.
Pineau, who finished in the top ten at the ISPS Handa Australia Open two weeks prior, had birdies at holes 3, 5, and 7 to get to the halfway point in 33 before missing his first shot of the day at hole 10. Following a brilliantly timed chip at the last, he responded with four straight birdies from the 12th and an eighth of his round to get to seven under.
Starting at the 10th hole, JC Ritchie was on course for his personal 65 until a bogey four at the eighth forced him to settle for six under.
After a dramatic birdie-eagle finish with a long putt at the last, Niklas Lemke was five under par. That was the second eagle on an intriguing back nine that featured nine pars on the outward half but three birdies and a double bogey as well.
Alongside the Swede in fifth place were Christopher Bring from Denmark and Ko Jeong Weon from France.
Ockie Strydom, who won the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week, maintained his strong start to the year with a three-under 69.
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