Smit opened with a five-under-par 67 and tops the leaderboard ahead of a group of four players on four under including rookie professional Casey Jarvis, Anthony Michael, Wynand Dingle and Chile’s Matias Calderon.

This is the second time in Smit’s career that he leads a Sunshine tour event. The last time was in 2018 when he led going into the final round of the Eye of Africa PGA Championship only to finish second behind Calderon, the very man just one shot behind him on the leaderboard this week.

“Coming to Highland Gate is always a pleasure. The views are spectacular and the course is very appealing to the eye. I especially love the contrast between the green grass of the course and then the brown veld. The firm fairways here also work for me. But it’s always a good test with its quick greens and tough flag positions,” said Smit.

Smit took full advantage of his strong driving game and picked up shots on all but one of the par fives.

“I really took good advantage of the par fives. All my best drives were on the par fives and having short irons into the greens also helped.”

With two rounds still to go in this event, Smit is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“I haven’t been at the top of a leaderboard in a while, and this is only the first round. There is still a lot of golf to be played on this course. Hopefully I can make a few more putts and keep doing what I’m doing.”

Jarvis, formerly South Africa’s number one amateur before he turned professional, will be delighted with his 68 in only his second Sunshine Tour event this season. – Michael Vlismas

Scores:

67 - Combrinck Smit

68 - Wynand Dingle, Matias Calderon, Anthony Michael, Casey Jarvis

69 - Keelan van Wyk, Ockie Strydom, Kyle Barker, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Jaco Prinsloo, Jacques Blaauw, James Hart du Preez

70 - JJ Senekal, Stephen Ferreira

71 - Martin Vorster, Louis Albertse, Rupert Kaminski, Herman Loubser, Brooklin Bailey, Michael Kok, Dylan Naidoo, Jayden Schaper, Doug McGuigan, Luke Brown, Luca Filippi, Neil Schietekat, Fredrik From

72 - Jordan Duminy, Makhetha Mazibuko, Callum Mowat, Jacques P de Villiers, CJ du Plessis, Heinrich Bruiners, Sean Bradley, Jean Hugo, Rourke van der Spuy, Ryan Van Velzen, Andre De Decker, Kyle McClatchie

73 - Clancy Waugh, Michael Palmer, Dylan Mostert, Albert Venter, Hennie O'Kennedy, Chris Cannon, Gerard du Plooy, Vaughn van Deventer, Adriel Poonan, James Pennington, Jared Harvey, Martin Rohwer, Chris Swanepoel, Matthew Spacey, Kevin Rhoderick, Dayne Moore

74 - Paul Boshoff, Quintin Wilsnach, Jake Redman, Jaco Van Zyl, MJ Viljoen, Harry Konig, Richard Joubert, Riekus Nortje, Maverick Faber, Gerhard Pepler, Hayden Griffiths, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Rhys West, Danie Van Niekerk

75 - Merrick Bremner, Nikhil Rama, Aneurin Gounden, Joshua Seale, Steven Le Roux, Madalitso Muthiya, Adam Breen, Yubin Jung

76 - Thanda Mavundla, Christiaan Basson

77 - Dean O'Riley, Jason Smith, Toto Thimba Jnr, Jovan Rebula, Ruan Korb

78 - Dwayne Basson, Lyle Rowe, Jacquin Hess, Franklin Manchest, Andre Van Dyk, Peter Karmis, Divan van den Heever

79 - Jastice Mashego, Malcolm Mitchell, Erhard Lambrechts, Therion Nel, Estiaan Conradie, Christiaan Burke

80 - Ruan de Smidt, Keagan Thomas

81 - Clinton Grobler, Teaghan Gauche

82 - Keelan Africa

83 - Hennie Otto, Tristin Galant

84 - Henning du Plooy, Leon Vorster

87 - Wade Jacobs