Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen marked his return to action after a three-month injury absence by claiming a share of the lead on the first day of the Mauritius Open.
Olesen, who underwent hand surgery, carded a six-under-par 65 to sit on top of the leaderboard with Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun and Spain’s Carlos Pigem.
Denmark’s Olesen had eight birdies and two bogeys on the par-71 Heritage Golf Club having started on the back nine.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this — three months to play a competition round,” the 25-year-old Olesen told www.europeantour.com.
“I was excited to get out there this morning. We had great conditions and I hit a lot of great putts, so it was fun,” he said. “Being out for three and a half months is a long time, especially when you can’t do anything. You are just doing rehab training, so it is frustrating. I’m excited to be out here again and I’ll be playing a lot of golf now.”
Wang said he was delighted with his round, played out against strong wind and rain.
Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao carded a one-over 70 to tie for 49th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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