By Zim Sport Live Writer
Chilean golfer Tomas Gana fired a superb seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the FCB Zimbabwe Open at Royal Harare Golf Club on Thursday.
Gana produced a flawless round featuring an eagle and six birdies to move one shot clear at the top of a tightly packed leaderboard in the Sunshine Tour event.
A six-way tie for second place on six-under-par includes another Chilean, a German, an Australian and three South Africans, setting up a highly competitive battle heading into the second round.
Robson Chinhoi and Clive Nguru are the highest-placed Zimbabweans after both carding opening rounds of three-under-par 69 to sit tied for 20th.
Chinhoi made a fast start with an eagle on the par-four seventh before adding birdies at the eighth and 10th holes.
A bogey at the 15th briefly halted his momentum before he closed with three consecutive pars.
Nguru, who has been enjoying strong recent form on the local circuit, mixed an eagle and four birdies with a bogey and a double bogey during his round.
The Zimbabwean trio of Stuart Krog, Michael Wallace and Darlington Chikayambidze all posted two-under-par 70s.
Meanwhile, the highest-ranked local player in the field Kieran Vincent will be aiming to bounce back in the second round after he returned a level-par 72.
The provisional cut line currently sits at two-under-par, with 52 players on that mark or better. As a result, much of the Zimbabwean contingent will likely need rounds in the 60s on Friday to secure places for the weekend rounds.