Filippo Celli will take a one-shot lead into the second round of the Cell C Cape Town Open in association with Honor after battling tough conditions to post an opening six under par 66.
The Italian, starting from the tenth, made a fast start to day one with a birdie and an eagle at the 11th and 12th holes, before five more gains and two bogeys saw him move to the top of the leaderboard on six under as the wind swirled in the Mother City.
South African Malcolm Mitchell and Spaniard Borja Virto had set the target earlier in the day after both carding rounds of 67 and the pair share second place on five under par at Royal Cape Golf Club.
Celli, who won the Silver Medal at the 2022 Open Championship, was delighted with his opening round given the tough scoring conditions and believes accuracy is key to success on the tree-lined layout this week.
“Today I played some solid golf, so I am very happy,” he said. “I handled the conditions well because it was a tough afternoon, and the gusts of wind were so strong. It was a good day for me.
“I tried to just take it one shot at a time and that worked well for me. The wind changed my strategy on certain holes but not my mindset.
It is a tight golf course, so you have to make sure you are hitting the fairways and greens.”
The 24-year-old remained patient throughout the afternoon in the Mother City and he is now hoping to take advantage of the calmer early morning conditions on day two.
“I have been playing good golf recently and I just had to be patient,” he said. “Patience was so important today because with this wind, if you make a bogey or a mistake, you have to remain positive or it can wear you down.
“Tomorrow I will play early, and it looks to be less windy. I will have the same mindset and hopefully I can make lots of birdies.”
South African Justin Walters sits in fourth place on four under par, while Road to Mallorca Number One Daniel van Tonder is part of a group of seven players a further shot back in fifth.
Van Tonder, who won the opening two events of the 2025 Road to Mallorca, is targeting automatic promotion to the DP World Tour with a third consecutive victory this week.
The second round will get underway at 6:30 am local time, with Celli teeing it up alongside South African Martin Rohwer and Frenchman Maxence Giboudot at 7:50 am.
