Matteo Manassero leads the European pack in first round of PGA Championship
Italian ace Matteo Manassero led the European crew after firing a round of 2-under-par, 68 to finish tied for fifth place. This is his debut appearance at the US PGA Championship, which is the final major of the season.
The 18-year-old rookie, who holds the honour of becoming the youngest golfer to win on the European Tour, chose to tee off from the back. He clamped his first birdie on the par-5, 12th hole, but gave away the earned accomplishment on the immediate hole after his ball landed in a bunker. He once again attempted for a birdie and earned it, but failed to retain it after missing the par-putt on the closing hole.
On his way to the front, the winner of Maybank Malaysian Open sandwiched two bogeys between three birdies and capped the day with one more birdie en route to a 68.
While commenting on his game, the rookie said, “I played good golf, solid, didn't miss much. I've done pretty much everything to enjoy the round.”
Adding to his statement, he mentioned the greens of Atlanta were extremely difficult to master.
“It is getting firmer, firmer and firmer. The greens are really tough to hole sometimes from some positions, so you have to play smart. You have to play away from a couple of flags sometimes,” added the 18-year-old.
Manassero was joined by Simon Dyson and Anders Hansen, who were the only two Europeans in the group other than the Italian.
Dyson, who won the Irish Open a fortnight back, is loaded with confidence. The Englishman birdied four holes against two bogeys and managed to remain in contention by the end of the day, whereas, most of the star-stellar field failed to break the par.
The veteran was pleased with his start. He said that he started the tournament with an impressive score, as carding a low number at Atlanta was not an easy task. He talked about his iron play, which he deemed as solid and his putting regarding which he said that he was pleased he did not miss many putts, unlike majority of the field.
Tags: