Van den Berg fires in Tour opener

(Getty)

South African Ulrich van den Berg fired a sparkling 64 to set the pace in the Alfred Dunhill Championship first round at Leopard Creek yesterday.

Van Den Berg's eight-under-par round gave him a one-stroke advantage over Sweden's Pelle Edberg in the 2010 European Tour opener. The five-times winner on South Africa's Sunshine Tour made eight birdies without dropping a shot, including four in a row from the first hole, Van den Berg's 10th.

"The course was there for the taking," Van den Berg said. "We've had a bit of rain and it's soft. The greens are perfect and I held it together nicely. It was my best putting round for a long time."