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Playing in his first Masters tournament, Justin Harding looks well set to make it into the weekend.
The 33-year-old South African, who qualified for the first major of the year after a second place finish at the Kenyan Open took him into the top 50 of the world, leads the South Africans in the field after finishing Thursday’s first round on three-under at 69.
“I think at one stage myself, Louis (Oosthuizen) and Gracie (Branden Grace) were all up there. I hope somebody took a screenshot of the leaderboard.”
Oosthuizen finished on one-under, while Grace carded a par 72. The other South Africans in the field are amateur Jovan Rebula (one-over 73), Trevor Immelman (two-over 74) and 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel, who shot a disappointing five-over 77.
Harding said that he did better on his first round than he had expected to. “It was good fun, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I handled the emotions of the day quite well, better than I thought I would.”
He birdied the first and third hole, then dropped a shot again on the fifth, but bounced straight back. He then played to par until the 15th, when he birdied again. Another birdie on the 17th took him to four under, but a bogey on the last hole took him back a shot.
“Obviously that bogey on the 18th was a bit naughty. It really was not a bad shot, I was aiming right at the flag and the bunker kind of popped up on me, it probably would have been better in the fairway. I was seeing stars in that bunker. It was that bright.
“But it is what it is. You can’t be disappointed if you are tied for the lead after my round one.”
He did slip down on the leader board as Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka later posted rounds of 66 to lead by a shot from Phil Mickelson, but he took more positives from the round than negatives.
“I would have loved to go into clubhouse on four under, I actually tried to set myself up for a birdie, but I guess it did not work that way.”
Harding says he was not overwhelmed by the thought of having to play on a new course. “I am seeing a new golf course almost every week. Not taking any demons, any memories of bad shots into the round obviously helps, and I also watched the Masters on TV a few times and saw what everybody got up to.
“But I enjoyed it. Ultimately Alan [his caddie] and myself executed a plan. We played away from flags when we needed to, counted on a good putter and it certainly worked for the most part today, I felt I overall did pretty good.”
Harding, who earlier this year won for the first time on the European Tour at the Qatar Masters, said he had changed his game some months back and had been playing consistently since then.
“I have become a bit better mentally. No longer really going through the highs and lows and the emotional roller-coasters. That comes from no longer playing the aggressive mindset game, that I was playing in the past.
“Playing three woods off the tee, laying off on drivable fours, just trying to be a bit smarter out on the golf course. And in doing so making less mistakes. And hoping that the birdies come.”
