Luke Donald said he will take confidence from firing a bogey-free 65 in the opening round of the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge.
The European Ryder Cup Captain reeled off seven birdies in a flawless first round at the tricky Gary Player Country Club in South Africa to sit just one shot behind leader Ryan Fox.
Seven-time DP World Tour winner Donald has struggled for form in recent tournaments, with his focus very much on other things ahead of next year's biennial showpiece at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.
But the Englishman put in an outstanding performance on Thursday and saw lots of positives.
The 44-year-old said: "A little bit unexpected to be honest, I wasn’t showing much form coming into this week. Feeling a bit better about my game.
"I kept it in play well off the tee and my iron play was really good.
"I think I hit 15 greens today and around this course, that is very pleasing.
"It’s tricky with the altitude and the wind swirls a bit here. I got the distances right all day, gave myself a lot of good looks and made a couple of putts, especially on the back nine.
"This isn’t an easy course, you can’t fake it around here.
"You have to stand up on certain tee-shots with trouble on both sides.
"It plays with your mind a little bit, so to shoot a good score like that is always nice and good for your confidence."
