Damien McGrane the outright leader at Ballantine’s Championship – European Tour
First round of the Ballantine’s Championship produced some exciting results on April 28, held at Seoul, South Korea. All the players were looking in good form, but it was the Irishman, Damien McGrane, who stood tall in the crowded leader board. He managed to finish with a birdie on the last hole and become the outright leader.
McGrane played exceptional golf during his round. He was simply amazing with his putter as he was holding his putts all day long. He had a round of six-under par, 66 in tough course conditions.
The 40-year-old McGrane is a seasoned player and has quite a lot of experience playing on the European circuit. He certainly showed his class during the first round as he was brilliant with his shots. He had a total of eight birdies and just two bogeys during the first round. His bogeys came on hole numbers 5 and 17.
The Irishman was very much satisfied with his swing which was in complete momentum. He is now confident of carrying his birdie streak in the next three rounds to maintain his name on the leader board.
McGrane after his superb round said, “I made plenty of birdies and I putted nicely. I holed everything inside 15 feet, so I made two bogeys which were out of nowhere really but that's golf I suppose. The fairways are generous, and just like last week, you make birdies on day one and keep going till the end of the tournament.”
This is a great start from the 40-year-old who is seeking his second European Tour win. His maiden victory came at Volvo China Open three years back. Now, he will be hoping to end his title drought.
Three players share the second place on the leader board. The local lad Sang-hyun Park, England’s Richard Finch and Felipe Aguilar of Chile are just one stroke behind the leader. All these three players played well and posted a round of five-under par, 70.
Finch is looking for this third European Tour win since 2008. He played well during the first day and carded a nicely composed round of five-under par, 67. This round was resultant of some great approach shots. The Englishman had a total of five birdies and failed to make a mistake. He had bogey-free day and enjoyed his outing.
As for the Chilean Aguilar, he was excellent during his round. He started his round from the back-nine as he made four birdies. Aguilar only made a single birdie on the first-nine. He had a total of five birdies and did not make a blemish in the day.
Aguilar has only won only once on the European Tour. Now that he is just one stroke behind the leader, he will surely be hoping to win this championship.
World number one, Lee Westwood, played steady golf during his round. He managed to post a score of even-par, 72 and is six behind the leader. Westwood had a total of three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. His double-bogey came on the par-4, 9th where his approach shot landed in water. From thereon, he was content with a double bogey.
The defending champion, Marcus Fraser, is also low on the leader board. He posted a score of even-par, 72 and looked a bit uneasy with his swing. Fraser had a total of four birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey. He lost two strokes on the par-4, 14th where his tee shot missed the fairway by a good margin.
Second round of the championship will tee off from tomorrow, Friday.
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