Danish players start well at the D+D Real Czech Challenge Open,
Andreas Hartø takes the second position
The inaugural edition of the D+D Real Czech Challenge Open finally started at the Kunetická Hora Golf Club, featuring some of the best payers on the European Challenge Tour.
At the end of the first round on Thursday, it seemed as if the Danish players were finding it easy to record decent scores on their scorecards.
Andreas Hartø was the leading Dane, having carded a seven-under par 65, to take the second position. The 24-year-old started off on the back nine of the course and signed a birdie on the very first hole that he played.
He then added another three shots on the 14th, 16th and the 18th hole to reach the turn with a four-under par score.
His flawless performance continued on the front nine of the course and he posted a 33 to take the clubhouse lead, early in the round.
Later in the day, Robert Dinwiddie surpassed him on the leaderboard by recording a sparkling eight-under par 64, and pushed the Dane back on the second place.
Despite losing the top spot, entering the second round, Hartø was pleased with his overall performance.
Talking to the European Challenge Tour’s official website, he credited his error-free performance to the recent changes in the putting technique that he made prior to coming to Czech Republic.
Last week, he participated in the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and missed a number of putts, which dragged him out of the tournament after the second round.
“I played well tee to green in Scotland last week but I putted badly so I drew a line on my ball to help line up the putt and I made some good putts today,” said the two-time Challenge Tour winner. “I made the ones you have to make to get a round going”.
He added, “It was nice to see that the putting was working and that was the main thing today. Even though I missed the cut last week by one it was a good experience and I’ve mixed the putting up a little so I took a good game here and improved my putting”.
Another Dane who finished the first round among the top-10 players was Anders Schmidt Hansen. He carded a six-under par 66 to share the third spot on the leaderboard.
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