Brandon Stone and Shaun Norris off to hot starts at Ras Al Khaimah Classic

Johannesburg - Brandon Stone and Shaun Norris fired matching five-under 67s in the first round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Al Hamra Golf Course, in the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox leads the way on nine-under after a stellar opening round of 63. Two behind is Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia on seven-under 65 with another 10 players tied on six-under.

Norris and Stone, for their efforts, share a place inside the top-15 in a tie for 12th.

The 39-year-old Norris was off to a fast start after birdieing the par four second, but two bogeys in his next three holes dropped him back down the leaderboard. Norris, though, bounced back in emphatic fashion with three birdies in a row from the sixth as he made the turn in two-under.

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His third bogey of the day came at the par four 12th, but again Norris responded with three gains in a row. His final birdie of the day came at the par four 17th to move him to five-under and complete a solid opening round.

Stone also made a good start to his tournament with a birdie four on the third. The highlight of Stone’s round was an eagle two at the par four fifth. After hitting his tee shot just short of a greenside bunker, Stone with one foot in the sand played a beautifully struck pitch shot that ran a good 30m before rolling straight into the hole for a two.

Hole out eagle