BELA BELA, Limpopo – Kinsale’s John Murphy bogeyed four of his last six holes to find himself battling to make the cut in the Challenge Tour’s SDC Open in South Africa.

The University of Louisville graduate birdied the 10th and 15th and eagled the par-five 18th to get to four-under, then picked up another birdie at the par-five second.

Scores

However, it was all a bit of a struggle on the way home as he bogeyed the fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa and signed for a one-under 71 that left him tied 64th.

He’s eight strokes behind Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, who was only notified that he was into this tournament on Sunday and flew out of Europe to arrive on Tuesday afternoon.

The Swiss player opened with a nine-under 63 at Elements Private Golf Reserve, which is the other golf course hosting the first two rounds of this Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour co-sanctioned tournament.

He had a slow start but still managed to turn in three-under, and then really found his form on the back nine and made six birdies in seven holes.

“I didn’t start too well and struggled over the first few holes, but after that, I somehow found my game. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this week, so this start is great,” Girrbach said.

He’s one stroke clear of Frenchman Clément Sordet and South African Ruan de Smidt, who share second place after both carding eight-under-par rounds of 64 at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa.

The Zebula course yielded the lower scoring on day one, but tournament leader Girrbach is not buying into any talk of it being easier than Elements.

“They are two very different golf courses. I really like Elements. It was quite tricky with the wind. Zebula is different, and you have a bit more room off the tee, but it’s still a test.”

Lucan’s Richard O’Donovan is tied 115th after a one-over 73 at Elements Private Golf Reserve, while The Island’s Gavin Moynihan is tied 146th after a two-over 74 at Zebula.