Aussies edge past Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy to clinch lead in Mission Hills World Cup of Golf
Australian duo of Brendan Jones and Richard Green have now surged to the top at the leaderboard of the Mission Hills World Cup of Golf at Missions Hills GC Hainan, china. The pair carded as stunning 11-under, 61 at the Four-Ball event of the first round,
staying clear of the rest of the countries by three shots and will have a strong edge moving into the Foursomes format of the event on Friday.
“We combined very well today,” said Green,“In this game, it's just a matter of positioning yourself and giving the other guy an opportunity if you are slightly out of position and allowing them to be a little bit more aggressive.”
The start of the first round saw many of the countries moving to the top and dropping down later but Jones and Green stayed firm with the early gains in the morning. Pulling in four birdies on the front nine, both players made the turn to card two eagles
alongside three birdies to finish with an invincible score.
Irish team of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlory, finished as the second best, carding a splendid round of nine-under, 63. Both players could have easily gone to clinch the lead, had they not missed the birdie putt at the 16th, notwithstanding,
they were pleased with their efforts.
“We set a target around eight to ten under par that we thought was going to be a good score out there, and we managed to shoot something around that,” said McIlroy. “The four-balls this week are where you're going to make most of your birdies, and the foursomes
is a more demanding format.” said the 22-year-old Irishman who has played tremendously well in the season and is currently poised at world number three on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
McDowell admitted that the Friday’s Foursomes will play a crucial and decisive role in setting Irish hopes down the weekend. Scotts Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher also performed well to finish for a joint second with the Irish team, also nine-under,
63.
Last week’s Iskandar Johor Open winner in Malaysia, Joost Luiten continued with his strong form here in Hainan, playing alongside Robert-Jan Derksen to finish for joint fourth with the US team.
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