Butterfield's record 62 leads new Euro Challenge Tour event

Ice-cold putter leaves Andrew McArthur

six shots behind record-breaker

By PAUL SYMES, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
Andrew McArthur bemoaned another poor putting performance after firing a round of 68 which could have been “so much better” on the opening day of The Princess, the new €300,000 Challenge Tour event Henrik Stenson is supporting.
McArthur is six shots off the pace set by runaway leader Andrew Butterfield, who broke the course record at Båstad GK in Båstad, Sweden, with a round of 62.
But with a hot putter the gap would have been considerably less, according to McArthur.
The former Scottish amateur champion from Windyhill said:
“I played really well, just missed chance after chance – which has been the same story all season. My putting’s been particularly poor lately – although I’ve always been a bit streaky on the greens. If I hole some putts then a few more tend to start dropping, but it can just as easily go the other way.
"I actually holed a couple of long ones where I maybe felt I didn’t deserve to. But then I missed about five or six putts from inside eight feet, which was hard to take.
“It’s got to the point now where I’m thinking too much about my technique all the time, instead of just trying to hole the putts. So I’m going to just try to clear my mind and go back to basics, though that might be easier said than done.
"It was the same story last week – it’s so frustrating. But I started to get a better feel for the pace of the greens towards the end of the round, so hopefully I can take that into tomorrow.”
Fellow Scot Lloyd Saltman is a further shot back on two under par, having collected three birdies and a bogey.
Saltman said: “It’s a tough course, particularly in the wind, so I was surprised at some of the scores. But I was still pretty pleased with my own game. It’s a big week with so much money at stake, so I’m grateful to get an invite to play, because my category didn’t get me in.
"If I can have a good week, it’ll hopefully set me on the road to getting my European Tour card, which is the aim I set myself at the start of the season.”
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 71
62 A Butterfield (Eng)
65 S Bebb (Wal), F Andersson Hed (Swe)
66 C Rodiles (Spa), T Carolan (Aus), L Bond (Wal), U Van Den Berg (Rsa), R Coles (Eng), P Barth (Swe)
67 Z Scotland (Eng), R Steiner (Aut), C Gunther (Ger), A Sjostrand (Swe), O Suhr (Den), K Webber (Aus)
68 C Suneson (Spa), A Bruschi (Ita), S Surry (Eng), J Wahlqvist (Swe), N Lemke (Swe), S Jeppesen (Swe), M Rodriguez (Arg), J Abbate (Arg), N Bruzelius (Swe), A Ahokas (Fin), J Lima (Por), D Kupper (Ger), A McArthur (Sco)
69 J Sjoholm (Swe), P Gustafsson (Swe), T Whitehouse (Eng), J Clement (Swi), G Paddison (Nzl), L Saltman (Sco), P Bocian (Swe), M Korhonen (Fin), F Calmels (Fra), C Carranza (Arg), A Tampion (Aus), M Wiegele (Aut), B Evans (Eng), M Rominger (Swi), R Hie (Ina), J Guerrier (Fra), G Houston (Wal)
70 L James (Eng), B Akesson (Swe), K Jorgensen (Den), N Meitinger (Ger), J Morrison (Eng), J Grillon (Fra), P Kaensche (Nor), A Hogberg (Swe), J Colomo (Spa), G Boyd (Eng), R McEvoy (Eng), M Cort (Eng), W Schauman (Swe)
71 F Henge (Swe), J Dantorp (Swe), P Whiteford (Sco), A Marshall (Eng), T Karjalainen (Fin), E Molinari (Ita), I Giner (Spa), B Miarka (Ger), A Rocha (Bra), R Kakko (Fin), A Mork (Fra), L Brovold (Nor), S Barr (Aus), J Granberg (Fin), A Gee (Eng), A Willey (Eng), G Murray (Sco), S Tiley (Eng), M Larsson (Swe), C Gane (Eng)
72 A Grenier (Fra), K Edberg (Swe), L Westerberg (Swe), M Laskey (Wal), N Smith (USA), C Moriarty (Irl), J Bjerhag (Swe), J Larsen (Nor), O Floren (Swe), M Tullo (Chi), K Brink (Swe), J Arruti (Spa), S Thornton (Irl), K Sullivan (Wal), B Hebert (Fra), R Muntz (Ned), S Walker (Eng), J Caldwell (NIrl), N Colsaerts (Bel), F Colombo (Ita), R Swane (Ned)
73 A Hansen (Den), L Johansson (Swe), A Haindl (Rsa), R De Sousa (Swi), A Hedlund (Swe), M Jurgensen (Den), J Heath (Eng), S Manley (Wal), B Pettersson (Swe), V Riu (Fra), P Baker (Eng), R Santos (Por)
74 C Monasterio (Arg), J Rask (Swe), F Praegant (Aut), G Adell (Swe), T Ferreira (Rsa), M Reale (Ita), F Svanberg (Swi), J Hedin (Swe), R Russell (Sco), J Ruth (Eng)
75 P Purhonen (Fin), C Brazillier (Fra), T Feyrsinger (Aut), P Niederdrenk (Ger), G Molteni (Ita), J McLean (Aus), G Shaw (NIrl), N Fox (Irl), A Bernadet (Fra), F Qvicker (Swe)
76 J Skold (Swe), R Steele (Eng), D Palm (Swe), E Ramsay (Sco), P Ericsson (Swe), M McGeady (Irl), J McLeary (Sco)
77 M Haastrup (Den), T Norret (Den), J Zapata (Arg), D Marmion (Eng), G Hutcheon (Sco), D Ulrich (Swi), S Robinson (Eng), N Maestroni (Ita), N Floren (Swe)
78 J Moul (Eng), D Nouailhac (Fra), R Treis (Ger), M Griffiths (Wal)
79 A Bossert (Swi), A Wagner (Arg), M Palm (Swe)
81 M Pilkington (Wal)
RTD: J Quesne (Fra)