Staff WriterThere’s something sweet about the way Luis Carrera is playing golf right now—and it’s not just the name of the tournament.
The Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am got underway Thursday at Irene Country Club, and fresh off his maiden Sunshine Tour victory, the young Mexican picked up exactly where he left off—with a scorching, bogey-free 63.
Carrera’s nine-under-par opening round was a masterclass in precision, power, and poise, setting the early benchmark in the second event of the 2025/2026 Sunshine Tour season.
If there were any questions about whether his win at the FBC Zim Open was a fluke, they were answered quickly and emphatically.
The 27-year-old opened with a birdie, added an eagle on the second for good measure, and barely took his foot off the gas.
He made the turn at 32, and, as if flipping a switch, closed his round with back-to-back birdies to snatch the lead from nine-time Sunshine Tour winner Trevor Fisher Jnr.
“It was another positive start by the latest star on the Sunshine Tour,” tournament officials noted—hardly an exaggeration given Carrera only joined the tour officially after qualifying school and already has one trophy in the bag.
Behind him, Fisher Jnr. was hardly a slouch. His own round featured a sizzling back-nine 30, which had him in the clubhouse lead for most of the day until Carrera swooped past.
The South African veteran is just one back at eight-under, keeping the pressure on heading into round two.
Not far off, a group of four—including Ryan van Velzen, JC Ritchie, Kyle de Beer, and Gerhard Pepler—sit two strokes behind the leader, each with a solid 65 on the board.
Former PGA Tour winner Dylan Frittelli, whose return to Sunshine Tour events has drawn considerable attention, posted a respectable three-under 69, placing him within striking distance but needing a low one on Friday to stay in the conversation.
The scoring on day one was as bright as the Pretoria sun, with more than half the field dipping under par.
The Kit Kat Cash and Carry Pro-Am might sound like a quirky name for a tournament, but the competition is anything but a novelty—this is serious golf, played by serious contenders.
And if Carrera’s form holds, we may be witnessing the emergence of a genuine force on the Sunshine Tour—one that doesn’t just flirt with the top of the leaderboard, but seems determined to take up permanent residence there.
Hold on to your snacks, folks. The weekend could get tasty.
