Philip Golding thrashes the field of the Speedy Services Wales Senior Open with eight straight birdies
Philip Golding complemented the name of the title sponsor of the Speedy Services Wales Senior Open with a run of speedy nine birdies on the final 10 holes of the opening round on Friday, at the Conwy (Caernarvonshire) Golf Club.
The 50-year-old Englishman got off to a brilliant start and recorded birdies on two of the first three holes that he played. Bogeys on the fourth and sixth hole offset his under-par score and he returned to equal-par score for the round.
After he parred the eighth hole, no one could have expected what was coming their way. Golding birdied the ninth hole and did not look back after that. He then recorded birdies on each of the remaining holes, except a bogey that came on the 17th hole.
The run of eight consecutive birdies also allowed him to set the record of the most birdies in a row on the European Senior Tour, and he did it in his third start on the tour.
Moreover, only 10 players in the history of the tier one European Tour have achieved this feat in their careers.
His score at the end of the day was eight-under par 64, his third in a row, as he also recorded back-to-back 64s in the last two rounds that he played at the SSE Scottish Senior Open.
“It’s not a bad number to be stuck on, 64, is it?” said Golding. “That’s three on the spin now so I’m delighted. I didn’t play as well today as I did on the weekend, but I holed a few putts and I made 11 birdies, which is great”.
“It was disappointing to bogey the 17th after making eight birdies on the spin,” he continued. “I was a bit too aggressive with that chip, so it was nice to finish with a birdie after that mistake”.
“I wasn’t as comfortable today as last week and got lucky a few times, but I holed some great putts,” he added. “It’s nice to break a few records along the way as well”.
Golding now holds a two-stroke lead over Mark Mouland, heading for the second round on Saturday.
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