Ross McGowan grabs lead in first round of Bankia Madrid Masters, Spain – Golf news
Englishman, Ross McGowan pulled in a stellar first round at the latest Bankia Madrid Masters at El Encin Golf Hotel in Alcala de Henares, Spain, carding a score of eight-under, 64, to stay as the outright leader. A winner in 2009, McGowan has one just one European Tour victory on his belt and he is hoping to repeat history again in Spain.
McGowan said, “I think I like Madrid. That was a much better round than I’ve been putting together recently.”
McGowan started off with three consecutive birdies on the opening holes but stumbled on a bogey to fall back. He resurfaced with excellent putting to card five more birdies to grab the lead in the afternoon. Finishing 12th on the Race to Dubai rankings, McGowan was selected for the Ryder Cup next year but failed to be part of the team in wake of a lingering wrist injury.
His best performance on the tour came at the Africa Open earlier in the year where he posted a joint 18th. Placed at 161st spot on the Race to Dubai, McGowan is on the verge of losing his tour card and will be needing a strong finish, if not a victory, here in Spain this weekend.
He added, “It’s been a pretty tough year with a couple of injuries but it’s been improving week to week and this week it really seems to have come together. I got off to a good start, birdied the first two, and just kept trying to hit good golf shots - that was the key. I kept finding the right spots on the greens and holing the putts.”
Australian Brett Rumford and Italian Lorenzo Gagli finished for a joint second with their respective scores of seven-under, 65. Another group of four players were tied for the fourth place including Edoardo Molinari, Graeme Storm, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano and Lee Slattery.
World number one, Luke Donald scored a humble four-under, 68, in the opening round of the event. He is hoping to retain his status as the money leader on both the tours, a feat which is unprecedented in the history books so far. Donald said, “I felt like I left a few out there. A couple of careless mistakes but a lot of solid golf in there too.”
Alavaro Quiros, being the local heartthrob, scored a five-under to stay in contention for the top slot on the weekend.
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