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Marc Cayeux….at Royal Harare in the Africom Zimbabwe Open day one

Marc Cayeux will feel the weight of hometown expectations more keenly than he did at the start of the Africom Zimbabwe Open after his opening eight-under-par 64 grabbed a share of the first round lead at Royal Harare Golf Club on Wednesday. “Home pressure is the hardest,” said the 32-year-old winner of nine Sunshine Tour titles after he stormed out in six-under-par 30 and came home in 34 to join Eugen Marugi at the top of the leaderboard, two clear of the chasers.

That opening blitz of six birdies in nine holes was the most emphatic way to lay down a marker in his quest for a home open championship. “It’s a tournament I’ve always wanted to win,” he said. “I’ve given myself a good chance with a good round like that, but it’s early days yet.”

He tugged his tee shot on the 10th left to set up his only bogey of the day on an otherwise blemish-free card, but he was quick to downplay his chances with three days of play still ahead, “If anything, I think I’ve put more pressure on myself,” he said.

Starting his round on the 10th hole, Marugi made three birdies in his opening six holes, before a dropped shot on 16 set him back. But only for a moment: He birdied 18, and then roared around the turn with birdies on one and two, and an eagle three on the 479-metre third, before picking up another birdie on eight.

Marugi is returning to tournament play after a spell in rehabilitation for addiction problems. “The rehab did me good,” he said. “I feel great. I’m hitting the ball much better than I used to.”

He wasn’t expecting much, but he revelled in being out on the fairways: “Now I’m calmer and I feel free,” he said. “I didn’t try anything today. I was just swinging the club and it was just happening.”

It was enough to keep an impressive group of four players behind him. Titch Moore, Hennie Otto, Peter Karmis and Trevor Fisher Jnr all fired six-under-par 66s, with Ryan Clarke, Neil Cheetham and Anthony Michael sharing seventh on five-under 67.

There are three defending champions in the field, and they got off to slow starts: 1999 winner Jean Hugo fought back from an awful start – three bogeys and a double bogey in his opening nine – and there were enough birdies on his card to see him to one-over 71.

Tony Johnstone, who won in 1993, had back problems in his opening four-over 76, while Chris Williams, the 1994 champion, was in the afternoon field and went round in even-par 72.

But up ahead, Cayeux is looking for any edge that will give him a win that could define his career. “I grew up at Chapman, but I’m a member here, and I’ve played a lot here. You remember things,” he said. “But it’s tough,” he cautioned.

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