Marco Crespi leads the M2M Russian Challenge Cup after round one
Marco Crespi fired a six-under par 66 on Thursday, to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the M2M Russian Challenge Cup at the Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club, just outside Moscow.
Espen Kofstad kept a bogey off his card in a faultless 67 and his score matched by Alessandro Tadini, who gave a similar performance on day one. Both the players shared the second position.
A bunch of five players settled further a stroke back and shared the fourth spot on the leaderboard.
Crespi opened his round with a couple of par putts. He then followed it by a run of four birdies on the next five holes, with a bogey sandwiched in between, which came on the par-four fifth hole.
The back nine of the course witnessed him make a slow start, as he dropped a shot on the 12th hole. However, he once again picked up the pace and birdied four of the last five holes that he played.
“I just played really good from tee to green,” he said. “I gave myself plenty of chances for birdies and although this course is long and I'm not a long hitter, I still reached plenty of greens, waited for my chances and my putting was perfect”.
The 33-year-old registered the first ever Challenge Tour victory of his career in Belgium this year. Currently, he ranks 22nd in the Challenge Tour Rankings and wants to add another title to his resume.
If he succeeds in his ambition, he will almost guarantee himself a full-time for the 2013 European Tour season.
“Like everybody else here, of course I know I need to perform in these two weeks,” he said. “I relaxed last week at home and I’ll try to bring my best game for these tournaments. My final round at the Rolex Trophy was seven under par so I am confident”.
He believes that his game has not changed since he played in Belgium. Therefore, he just needs to remain consistent and focus on his putting, which can be a differentiating factor between a close finish and a win.
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