After round just one round of the DP World Tour’s SDC Championship in South Africa, 27-year-old Connor Syme is only one stroke down from the lead. The Scottish golfer said he felt comfortable playing in the windy conditions and it did not pose a problem for him.
At St. Francis Links, the 27-year-old played with gusts of up to 35 mph while shooting a four-under 68 to tie for third place with co-leaders France’s David Ravetto and Norwegian Kristian Krogh Johannessen.
After recording seven birdies and three bogeys, Syme, who is still in the battle for his first DP World Tour victory, said: “It was pretty hard, to be truthful. Many of the tees were moved to other places to make it a little easier for us to play, but it was still challenging.”
“It was necessary to keep the ball low, so I made advantage of my Scottish playing knowledge by hitting a lot of low drives and punched shots into the wind. I probably made a few errors overall, but I also made a lot of solid birdies. That’s the biggest challenge of this golf course, and I drove it well. Although the fairways are wide enough, if you miss them, you are screwed.”. added Syme.
At the 2019 Turkish Airlines Challenge, Syme won for the first time on the Challenge Tour, defeating his opponent Francesco Laporta with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win the season-opening competition. By placing 12th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, Syme ultimately earned his return to the European Tour.
