Green shoots to recovery at Scandinavian Masters
Australia's Richard Green took the clubhouse lead in the first round of the Nordea Scandinavian Masters, leading the field by a stroke after going five-under-par 67 this afternoon at Stockholm's Bro Hof Slott golf club.
Green shot seven birdies and a pair of bogeys to take a narrow lead over the pursuing pack earlier, Scottish Open winner Edoardo Molinari amongst those players tied for second place a stroke back on four-under.
The talented Italian was also matched by Sweden's Steven Jeppesen and Argentina's Rafa Echenique though none of that trio could make their way through the 18 holes unscathed, each player dropping at least one shot in their pursuit of the Australian's lead. In fact Echenique dropped three shots, but seven birdies kept him near the top of the heap.
Of the players yet to finish their rounds, Dustin Johnson is tied for second place after the 13th, having carded four birdies on a thus far flawless round. Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin has managed the same feat, even matching Johnson for his latter birdies - both players made the par five 12th and 13th in four strokes.
At the time of writing, eight players are currently on three-under and tied for eighth place, amongst them the winner of last week's Open at St Andrews, Louis Oosthuizen. The South African who enjoyed a reasonably low profile before Sunday's victory is in decent form too, with four birdies and a bogey after 14 holes.
A couple of Britons have finished on three-under, too, David Dixon and Gary Boyd both well placed after the first round.
But the much fancied Rickie Fowler, tipped by many to be a major contender here, seems to have come unstuck, the 21-year-old Californian carding four birdies but also five bogeys to come home one-over-par.
That leaves Fowler currently tied for 73rd place, although he's not the only favourite to underperform - in fact, outright favourite and local player Robert Karlsson had a similarly tough time of it, finishing on the same score as Fowler after a round that started (on the back nine) with a bogey on the 12th, and never recovered from a double bogey seven on the 1st. Bro Hof Slott may be a beautiful course, but it's by no means an easy one.
Just ask Jesper Parnevik, returning for his first game since he stopped playing in February with a career-threatening back injury. The 45-year-old admitted before the round that his return could prove embarrassing, but so far Parnevik's not done too badly for a man who's been out of the game for five months - not that he'll be delighted with five bogeys, but a couple of birdies on the back nine would suggest the Swede isn't done just yet.
Tags: