Tshwane Open 2017: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The 2017 Tshwane Open got off to an exhilarating start on Thursday as Gregory Havret, Haydn Porteous and Alexander Bjork shot six under par to tie for the lead at Pretoria Country Club in Waterkloof, South Africa.    

Havret enjoyed a sensational start to his tournament, and he birdied six of his nine opening holes before rounding the back nine for par, while both Porteous and Bjork began their tournament on the 10th.

The trio lead a five-man contingent tied for fourth spot by just a single shot, meaning there's plenty of room for the leaderboard's hierarchy to undergo a makeover before Sunday's climax.

That being said, home favourite Jaco van Zyl, one of the higher-profile stars on display in South Africa, faces a big task in coming back from the three-over he shot on Day 1 and could be eyeing a premature exit from the competition.

Read on for a roundup of the opening round's action in Waterkloof, including a look at the leaderboard after Day 1 came to a close.

Position	Player	To Par	Day 1
T1	Gregory Havret	-6	65
T1	Haydn Porteous	-6	65
T1	Alexander Bjork	-6	65
T4	Duncan Stewart	-5	66
T4	Mikke Korhonen	-5	66
T4	Justin Walters	-5	66
T4	Ben Eccles	-5	66
T4	Toby Tree	-5	66
T9	Matthew Southgate	-4	67
T9	Jorge Campillo	-4	67
T9	James Morrison	-4	67

Visit the official European Tour website to view the leaderboard in full.

Recap

While both South African native Porteous and Swedish contender Bjork made their way to the summit of the leaderboard following bogey-free outings on Thursday, Havret capitalised off a slightly spottier performance.

The first, third and seventh holes were the only points on the front nine in which the 40-year-old failed to save shots, and the European Tour confirmed the Frenchman's 2017 season landmark in the process:

The par threes and fours in particular appeared to yield good fortune for the Frenchman, with his only two bogeys of the day coming on the 11th and 13th holes, each of them a par five.

Those same holes didn't trouble Bjork, however, and he too enjoyed stronger form at the start of his first round, birdieing four of his first nine after beginning on the 10th. Bjork was particularly pleased with his play off the tee, via Sunshine Tour:

Porteous had an identical spread of shots and collected four birdies across his first nine holes before adding two more on the fourth and sixth holes later on.

Toby Tree, Ben Eccles, Duncan Stewart and Mikko Korhonen accounted for four of the five players in joint-fourth on five-under at the end of Day 1, with Justin Walters the only South African among that bunch:

Along with Porteous, Walters could be one of the native stars vying for the Tshwane crown come Sunday, and deservedly so after he hit back from a bogey on his first hole (the 10th) before birdieing five of his next seven attempts.

Scotland's Stewart and England's Tree ensured there's also a sense of British competition among the early leaders, while English duo Matthew Southgate and James Morrison—tied for ninth, two shots off the lead—sit just behind.