Edfors leads Vivendi Cup after opening round
It’s not every day that a golfer will express disappointment after shooting a 61 complete with 10 birdies and one eagle, but that’s exactly what Johan Edfors of Sweden did after posting
a score of 11-under-par during the opening round of the Vivendi Cup.
Edfors had been
chasing the number that every professional golfer dreams of hitting. “I holed a couple of good putts, but still (felt) a little bit disappointed,” said the 34-year-old after the round.
“I don't think I'll ever get a better chance to shoot 59 than I had today.”
Edfors’ stellar round began with a bogey-free five-under 31 on the front nine. He began the back nine with three birdies and an eagle and all of a sudden, Edfors was thinking 59.
"I was ten under with five to go, and I had 80 metres left on 14 in the middle of the fairway and I bogeyed that one and then I birdied 17 and 18 coming in. So felt a little bit better
but had a really good chance for a 59 there, I was playing really nice.”
Edfors’ 61, good for a two-shot lead over the field, put him in a tie for the lowest round on the European Tour this year. Nobody has ever shot a 59 in the history of the tour. Five players
on the PGA Tour have managed to post the number, including Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby this year.
Edfors, is
a three-time winner on tour but winless since 2006 and currently
ranked 160th in the World Golf Ranking.
Behind him by two shots is Englishman David Dixon, who had an excellent round of his own with a nine-under-par 63. The 33-year-old Dixon needs solid finishes down the stretch of the season.
He is currently ranked 145th on tour and needs to slip into the top-115 to secure his tour card for next season. "I've been driving it great, hitting the driver really good and putting myself right up by the greens," said Dixon.
Jean-Francois Remesy of France and John Parry of England sit three shots back of the leader at eight-under-par.
Irishman Padraig Harrington, who will tee it up as a member of the European Team for next week’s Ryder Cup, shot a four-under 68 and sits seven shots back.
Peter Hanson, set to be one of the Ryder Cup rookies next week, withdrew from the tournament citing illness. He has gone home to Sweden to rest and recuperate before the matches begin
1 October at Celtic Manor in Wales.
The European Tour event is taking place this week at Golf de Joyenval, just outside of Paris.
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