Spain’s Jorge Campillo yesterday maintained his red-hot form with a flawless seven-under-par 65 to stand in a three-way tie for the lead after the first round of the Volvo China Open.
The Spaniard on Sunday won his maiden European Tour title at the 229th attempt at Morocco’s Trophee Hassan II and showed no sign of slowing down in good scoring conditions in Shenzhen.
An eagle-three at the par-five ninth and four birdies saw him complete a stunning front nine in six-under-par at the rain-softened Genzon Golf Club.
A 20-foot putt to save par at the 12th crucially kept a bogey off his card and a further birdie at the par-five 17th saw him share top rung on a packed leaderboard with David Lipsky and Tapio Pulkkanen.
“I got a few nights’ sleep, so it was good and I played all right,” Campillo said of his dash across seven time zones from North Africa to play in the Far East. “The eagle on nine was the highlight. I hit a great hybrid on nine. I got an easy putt uphill and I made it.”
American Lipsky and Finland’s Pulkkanen, who both enjoyed top-10 finishes in Morocco, had set the early clubhouse target with their own rounds of 65 in the morning.
Wu Ashun and Jin Daxin led the home charge with a pair of 66s to lie just a shot adrift, in a tie for fourth alongside John Catlin.
China’s No. 1 and crowd favorite Li Haotong received one of the biggest ovations of the day when he birdied the 18th in rain and near darkness to join an eight-way tie for seventh on five-under 67.
“It was a solid round,” the world No. 39 said. “I played well today, only missed one green.”
Li squeezed in the trip to his national open in between major commitments at the Masters and the US PGA Championship this month, and was rewarded by a massive gallery cheering his every move.
Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang and Lee Chieh-po carded one-under 71s for shares of 69th, while Lien Lu-sen’s five-over 77 left him tied for 145th.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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