Tom Lehman now leading the MCB Tour Championship on the Champions Tour after the opening round
Tom Lehman, the Former Open Champion, surged to the top of the leaderboard at the latest Champions Tour event, the MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius, carding an unblemished seven-under, 65 on the opening day. The grizzled veteran pulled in seven birdies
on alternate holes all through the 18-hole stretch at the scenic Constance Belle Mare Plage at Poste de Flacq, Mauritius. He opened up his round with two consecutive birdies on the front nine and never looked back.
“To make two birdies to start with was great and I just kept it going. I made some big putts to save par, on the sixth in particular when I made 12-footer and nine from eight feet. Those were really key to the round. Anytime you get round without a bogey
you are happy,” said the 2010 US Senior PGA Champion. “I managed to roll the ball pretty well today and made seven birdies so it is a great start.”
The 2006 United States Ryder Cup Captain also lauded the course and termed it one of his favourites outside the US.
“I love the course here. I think it is a wonderful golf course. It has the appearance of being extremely narrow.”
Lehman is three shots clear of the nearest contender South African David Frost, who carded a round of four-under, 68. Frost could have easily soared into contention if he had not fallen for the terrible double-bogey at par- four, 12th. Sweden’s
Peter Dahlberg also played brilliantly at the windy Mauritian turf, carding an opening round score of three-under, 69. He is standing as an outright third, trailing the leader by four shots.
England’s Andrew Sherborne also had a disappointing first day. Pulling in three birdies on the front nine, without dropping a single shot, Sherborne was hoping to take on the offensive but succumbed to three consecutive bogeys at 14th, 15th
and 16th to finish for joint fourth. He is sharing the fourth place with seven other players including Frenchman Jean Pierre Sallat, Welshman Mark Mouland, and countrymen Gary Wolstenholme, Carl Mason, Bob Cameron, Nick Job and Spaniard Jose Rivero.
The 54-hole event will move to the second round on Saturday, December 10.
Tags: