Martin Erlandsson shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to take the lead after the first round of the British Masters.
The Swede leads Jarmo Sandelin and Richard Sterne by two strokes.
"I don't think I missed a single shot today," said Erlandsson, who was 7 under on his final nine holes. "I was spot-on with my swing,"
Soren Kjeldsen (66) three-putted his final hole and was tied fourth with Raphael Jacquelin. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, playing his first tournament as a professional, shot a bogey-free 69, including chip-ins at the 11th and 12th holes after beginning his round at the 10th.
Other notable players in the field include Lee Westwood (68), Colin Montgomerie (70), Paul McGinley (70), Robert Karlsson (71), David Howell (72) and Darren Clarke (74).
Erlandsson, a four-year Tour player, had his best finish at the 2005 Wales Open and missed the halfway cut at the British Masters last year.
"I've tightened up my swing. I used to have a weak fade that did not always work, particularly in the wind," the Swede said.
He birdied his first hole, the 10th, and then the 12th from 10.7m, his longest putt of the day. But Erlandsson excelled on his second nine, starting with an eagle at the long third where he chipped in from 6m. He birdied the fourth and the last four holes.
Sandelin, who lost his playing card in 2005 and regained it last year, birdied the first two holes and five of the last nine of the 6,605m course at The Belfry. He said he could not walk for three days last weekend because of the cramp in his lower back, but after some physiotherapy, he was better.
Sterne, this year's Wales Open champion, eagled the third hole from 4.6m and made two 6m birdie putts on the back nine to move alongside Sandelin.
As an amateur at the British Open, McIlroy shot a 68 in the first round and ended up finishing 42nd. On Thursday, he parred the opening hole, the short par-4 10th over a lake, and then saved par with a 12m chip-in at the 11th. He birdied the 12th with another chip-in, this time from 9m.
"It could have been better if a few more putts had dropped because I gave myself a lot of chances," McIlroy said.
McIlroy said he felt less pressure than in the British Open or in the Walker Cup two weeks ago.
"I'm just going along for the ride, trying to put a little white ball in the hole. If I can do that, I'll be happy," he said.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS