Retief Goosen was the best placed South African player after the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point on Thursday.

‘The Goose’ started badly in blustery conditions as he dropped shots on the second and third holes before steadying the ship with a birdie on the fourth hole – first of the par 5s. An outward nine of 37 left him with plenty to do with more than half the field finishing level or better at the new venue for the championship – moved to Eagle Point due to the Quail Hollow hosting the PGA Championship in August.

Goosen joined the players with a par or better opening round thanks to three birdies – including the 18th hole – on the back nine to sign for a two-under 70. The same score posted by world number one Dustin Johnson on his return to golf after his freak injury ahead of The Masters.

ALSO READ: Johnson starts well at Wells Fargo

Goosen leads the South Africans at the event with his partner from last week’s Zurich Classic, Tyrone Van Aswegen, opening with a level par 72. Van Aswegen, who features in the latest issue of Compleat Golfer, had a shakey start with two bogeys in his opening four holes before pulling shots back at 7 and 10.

Veteran Ernie Els has a mountain to climb if he wants to stick around on the weekend after a back nine to forget on Thursday. An early bogey and a string of pars saw him arrive on the 14th one over for the day. That position quickly changed when he made a double to move down the field quickly. Another bogey on 16 saw him finish with a four over par 76 and in 134th place.

Rory Sabbatini had a miserable day and finish two worse than Els with little hope of making the cut.

Photo: Jared Tilton/Getty Images