Victor Perez continued his fast start to life on the European Tour by grabbing a share of the early lead at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The Challenge Tour graduate followed up his third-place finish at the Hong Kong Open with an opening-round 64 in Anahita to set the clubhouse target.
S Chikkarangappa birdied two of his final three holes to close out a blemish-free card and join Perez on eight under, with Jaco Van Zyl one of three players sitting a shot off the pace.
It’s the first round of a new season, so it’s really nice to get off to a good, solid start,” Van Zyl said. “I played nicely and it was a really nice finish. I was going well and then I finished birdie-eagle.”
Beginning on the back nine, Perez followed back-to-back birdies from the 13th with further gains at the 16th and 18th to reach the turn in 32.
A hat-trick of birdies from the second lifted Perez alongside Van Zyl at the top, before the Frenchman cancelled out a blemish at the fifth with a 12-foot gain at the sixth and a final-hole gain.
Kurt Kitayama and Masahiro Kawamura join Van Zyl on seven under, with England’s Lee Slattery part of the group a further two strokes back after closing his opening-round 67 with a final-hole eagle.
Defending champion Dylan Frittelli started his bid for back-to-back titles with a three-under 69, a score matched by Ernie Els, while Bernd Wiesberger marked his return from injury with a level-par 72.
