First round of Open de Andalucía leaves a crowded leaderboard – Golf news
The Open De Andalucía De Golf event is all set to bring some thrilling competition and great golf this weekend, with four players tied in for the top slot at the end of the opening round. Being played at the scenic Parador de Malaga Golf club, four players,
Swedish Rikard Karlberg and Johan Edfors, and Englishmen Robert Rock and Jamie Elson, finished 5-under for 67, to share the top spot for the day.
Things looked even gloomier for the rest of the contenders as no less than five players, finishing 5-under, are tied up for the fifth spot. Scotsman Paul Laurie and Dane Jeppe Huldahl, Japan’s Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Spaniard Raul Quiros and Germany’s Florian
Fritsch all ended with rounds of 66, just one shot behind. A staggering 15 players tied for the 10th spot with only two shots behind.
Rock had a brilliant day as he landed five birdies for the opening holes with only one bogey at the 11th. He pulled in another birdie at the 12th. Edfors and Elson also posted six birdies and one bogey in their respective rounds.
Sweden’s Karlberg scored seven birdies and just one bogey for his 17 holes. Karlberg would have been leading the first round if he had not stumbled on a bogey at the 18th hole. The 24-year-old is still looking for a victory on the European Tour.
To name few of the worst performances of the day, New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, who is also the former US Open Champion along with David Howell of England, who has played twice in the Ryders Cup, shot 4-over for 74. There is little chance that the two
veteran golfers will survive the tough competition ahead.
Open de Andalucía De Golf, held for the first time in 2007, is played every year on the Spanish European tour at the Parador de Malaga Golf club, a par 70 course. The Championship has a purse of €1,000,000. The European Teams captain for the Ryder Cup, Colin
Montgomery, made his 500th appearance at the European Tour here at Open De Andalucía in 2009. The defending champion, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, is not participating in the championship due to an eye infection.
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