STEPHEN GALLACHER ONLY

A SHOT OFF PACE IN JOHNNIE
WALKER CLASSIC

Australian Brad Kennedy upstaged the big guns to take the first- round lead in the star-studded Johnnie Walker Classic with a superb seven-under-par 65 today.
Kennedy, a regular on the Asian Tour, sank eight birdies at the spectacular Blue Canyon Country Club, Phuket in Thailand and leads by one stroke from former US Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, England's Graeme Storm and Sweden's Peter Hanson.
The Johnnie Walker Classic's star attractions, South African duo Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and Australian Adam Scott, all top-10 players in the world, endured mixed fortunes over the challenging par-72, 7,189 yard course.
After missing the cut in his last two tournaments, Kennedy returned home to the Queensland Gold Coast and put in the hours at the gym and practice range with his coach Ian Triggs and he clearly struck gold today in idyllic Phuket.
"I had a great start, chipping in on the first for birdie and hit a great 4‑iron to two feet on the second. Things just started and I just eased my way through the round after that. I hit a lot of fairways," said Kennedy.
"I missed the cut in Qatar and Malaysia, didn't play Indonesia and went home and got stuck at the gym and had a good couple of weeks with my coach. We just found a couple of keys to my swing and I feel sort of ready to play these next four weeks in a row now," added the Australian, who enjoyed a couple of seasons on the European Tour before turning his focus back on Asia.
The left-handed Weir, making his debut in the Johnnie Walker Classic and visiting Thailand for the first time, has adapted quickly to the heat and humidity of Phuket, an impressive feat considering that he was enjoying some skiing only last Sunday in Salt Lake City.
An eagle 3 at the 11th, set up with a glorious rescue club shot from 230 yards out that landed eight feet away, was Weir's highlight of the round. "It was a nice high fade, probably the best shot I hit today. The score was great today," said Weir, who describes himself as a two-handicapper in skiing.
"I still feel I can sharpen up a few things. I'm not saying I'm going to shoot six under every day but I feel that I've been giving myself chances. That's the key to shooting good scores," added the 36-year-old, who has won seven US PGA Tour titles including the 2003 US Masters.
Less than a week after trudging through the rugged terrains of the Scottish highlands in the freezing cold, Stephen Gallacher, whose uncle Bernard is a former European Ryder Cup captain, lived up to Johnnie Walker's motto of "Keep Walking" as he battled the heat and humidity to surge into contention.
The 2004 Dunhill Links winner said: "I went with six of my friends and we were walking through the heather, soaked to the bone in seven degrees (Centigrade) compared to over 30 degrees here. We did a total of 40 miles in two days. That was my preparation for this tournament! It was good. I enjoyed it.
"I’ve never been to Thailand or Malaysia before and you have to be fit to play here. I went through about eight litres of water to stay rehydrated in this heat. Coming from Scotland we are not used to this. We never get humidity like this."
Fellow Scots Barry Hume and Marc Warren also started well and are on the 68 mark.
Colin Montgomerie had a 69.

Andrew Coltart and Simon Yates are on the level par 72 mark (144 is the projected cut figure at halfway).

Gary Orr had a 73, one ahead of Paul Lawrie and Alastair Forsyth.

Scott Drummond fared worst of the Scots in action. He had two double bogeys in his inward half on his way to a 77.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
65 Brad Kennedy (Aus).
66 Graeme Storm (Eng), Mike Weir (Can), Stephen Gallacher (Sco) 35-31, Peter Hanson (Swe).
67 Scott Gardiner (Aus), Richard Lee (NZ), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Graeme McDowell (NIr). 68 Wang Ter-chang (Tpe), Barry Hume (Sco) 35-33, Keith Horne (SAf), Oliver Wilson (Eng), Peter Fowler (AUS), Nick Dougherty (Eng), Retief Goosen (SAf), Richard Bland (Eng), Marc Warren (Sco) 34-34.
69 Iain Steel (MAS), Angelo Que (Phi), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Craig Parry (Aus), David Frost (SAf), Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 34-35, Lu Wen-teh (Tpe), James Nitties (Aus)
70 Nick Flanagan (Aus), Lin Ken-chi (Tpe), Wade Ormsby (Aus), Peter O'Malley (Aus), Zhang Lian-wi (Chi), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Edward Michaels (US), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Jarrod Moseley (Aus), Peter Senior (Aus), Simon Khan (Eng), Unho Park (Aus), Gary Emerson (Eng), Adam Blyth (Aus), Lin Wen-tng (Tpe), Suk Jong-yul (Kor), Kim Felton (Aus).
Other Scots scores:

72 Andrew Coltart 35-37, Simon Yates 37-35.

73 Gary Orr 37-36.

74 Paul Lawrie 39-35, Alastair Forsyth 35-39.

77 Scott Drummond 37-40.

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