Robert-Jan Derksen two shots ahead at the Volvo China Open
Robert-Jan Derksen fired a six-under par 66, in the opening round of the Volvo China Open, to take a two-stroke lead, on Thursday, May 2, 2013.
The tournament is being staged at the Binhai Lake Golf Club, featuring some of the best European Tour players, vying for a share of RMB 20,000,000 prize fund.
It has been over two years since Derksen recorded a top-10 finish on the European Tour. That is the reason why he has not been able to make it into the top-100 in the Race to Dubai this season, as well as in the last season.
After going one-over par through holes, it appeared as if Derksen will spend another tournament being unnoticed. However, the reality was completely different, as he bounced back strongly with birdies on the sixth, eighth and the ninth hole, to reach the
turn in two-under.
The back nine of the course witnessed him playing better shots, as he managed to post another four birdies to his scorecard, which allowed him to surge to the top of the leaderboard.
Talking to the European Tour’s official website, he expressed his pleasure in making a strong start in the tournament, and is hopeful to keep the momentum going into the remaining three rounds.
According to him, the strong wind made it really difficult for the players to play accurate shots. As a result, it was a bit difficult to create birdie chances. He said that his great putting technique boosted his confidence early in the round, which allowed
him to post a decent score on the leaderboard.
“It was a funny day, because I started well with a birdie from about five feet, but then three-putted the third and fourth and ended up in three divots on the fairways later in the round,” said the two-time European Tour winner.
“I made a lot of birdies, and I’ve ended the day in a really good position. The wind was difficult to judge, even on the greens. But I started making a few putts and my confidence lifted,” he added. “It’s only the first day, I know, but I haven’t led a tournament
for quite a while... Hopefully we could be in for a good week”.
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