By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Waterkloof, South Africa (SportsNetwork.com) - Morten Orum Madsen used an eagle-eagle finish to fire a 7-under 65 and grab a share of the lead after Thursday's opening round at the Tshwane Open.
Madsen's first eagle was a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth. He was joined in the lead at Pretoria Country Club by David Horsey. Madsen won the South African Open last season, while Horsey earned his third European Tour title at the Russian Open last July.
Brett Rumford and Wallie Coetsee share third place at minus-6. Raphael Jacquelin, a four-time winner on the European Tour, carded a 5-under 67. He was joined in fifth place by Keith Horne, Merrick Bremner and Dean Burmester.
Edoardo Molinari and last week's winner Trevor Fisher, Jr. headline a group of 10 players that are tied for ninth at minus-4. Defending champion Ross Fisher managed a 1-under 69, which left him tied for 37th.
Madsen, who shared third place last week at the Africa Open, opened with a birdie at No. 10 and followed with five pars in a row. He dropped in a birdie effort on the par-3 16th.
The Dane moved to 3-under thanks to a 30-foot birdie putt at No. 1. Madsen stumbled to a bogey at the fourth, but atoned for that mistake with a birdie on the sixth.
Madsen made a hole-in-one at the par-3 eighth as his tee shot spun back into the cup. He reached the green in two at the par-5 ninth and drained his 12- foot eagle chance to jump into the early lead.
"The last couple of weeks I've been hitting some shots really close and I actually said to my caddie last week that a hole-in-one is in the cards pretty soon. Luckily for me, it came today. I hit a fantastic shot, I couldn't hit it better, and it spun back into the hole," Madsen stated.
"When you stand on the next tee, you're pretty pumped and confident. I succeeded in gathering my thoughts and hit a really nice drive and then a great second shot and then sank it, which was a fantastic way to finish. It was the kind of thing you dream about, but don't expect."
Horsey, who played in the afternoon wave, ran off five pars in a row to open his round. He climbed into contention with three birdies in a 4-hole span from the sixth.
Around the turn, birdies at the 12th and 14th got him within two of the lead. Horsey notched back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to join Madsen atop the leaderboard.
"This place demands a bit more than just long hitting. It's nice to play golf courses that make you think a bit more than just taking driver on every tee," said Horsey. "I plotted my way around, because it's very much a positional golf course. On the whole, I'm very pleased with today's work."
NOTES: Madsen was the last player with two eagles in one round, and that happened in the first round last week at the Africa Open ... Madsen and Horsey have both had a piece of the first-round lead three previous times in their European Tour careers.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/madsen-horsey-share-lead-in-south-africa