Finch flying, McGowan grounded at Gleneagles
With the opening round of the Johnnie Walker Championship underway, it's Richard Finch who holds a slender clubhouse lead - while Ross McGowan's Ryder Cup hopes have been dashed.
Finch finished the Gleneagles course six-under-par 66 to top the leaderboard by a stroke this afternoon, the Englishman's flawless round of six birdies giving him the sole lead. But a trio of his fellow countrymen lay just a stroke behind, with David Lynn, Robert Rock and Richard Bland all tied for second place on five-under-par.
But it's the Ryder Cup hopefuls who provide as much interest in Perthshire this afternoon, at least as far as European captain Colin Montgomerie is concerned. McGowan is the big story, the Englishman playing in some pain to shoot an opening five-over-par 77 - before choosing to withdraw, and thus miss his chance of qualifying for the Ryder Cup.
The 28-year-old has been troubled with a pinched nerve in his left shoulder in recent weeks, but evidently the pain has become too great, doctors advising the Essex-born player to rest. McGowan's withdrawal means that Francesco Molinari is now an automatic qualifier for Monty's team.
Elsewhere, Englishman Simon Dyson is currently tied for fifth place on four-under, having completed his round. Should the 32-year-old win this week's tournament, he can move into the automatic qualifying places for the Ryder Cup team, which will be announced this week after the Championship is decided.
Montgomerie already faces a selection headache, and the addition of Dyson to the team may not necessarily be the result that the Scot would be hoping for, though that possibility is still a long way off.
Another man hopeful of automatic qualification, Sweden's Peter Hanson, is currently three-under and tied for 11th place. Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez is two-under and tied for 21st place, the 46-year-old opting to miss his nephew's wedding in order to play this event in the hope that he'll do enough to make the Ryder Cup team.
Edoardo Molinari is on the same score as Jiménez; looking to impress Monty into gambling a wildcard pick on him, the Italian will be pleased to be in touching distance of the leaders at this early stage. That's the same score as his sibling, Francesco, who is mid-way through his round, though Cesc has automatically qualified thanks to McGowan's aforementioned withdrawal.
Spain's Alvaro Quiros is another player hoping to grab Montgomerie's attention, but Quiros could only finish on level par today, a score that currently sees him tied for 69th place.
Sweden's Robert Karlsson also harboured a distant hope of earning a wildcard selection before the tournament began, but a poor early showing here won't have helped his cause. The 40-year-old shot five bogeys, coming home three-over-par 75 today.
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