LONGMUIR'S NEW SWING STANDS UP TO SPANISH SENIORS TEST

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
European Seniors Tour Press Officer
The inseparable quartet of Bob Cameron, Bill Longmuir, David Merriman and José Rivero share the lead after round one of the OKI Open de España Senior by Cleveland / Srixon on The European Senior Tour.
The four leaders each carded excellent rounds of five under par 66 at the outstanding El Vale Golf Resort in Southern Spain, with the English duo of John Harrison and three-time Order of Merit winner Carl Mason tied in second place on four under par.
Longmuir’s 66 was, perhaps, the most surprising of the four given the Scot has recently undergone an overhaul of his swing with his great friend and coach, Clive Tucker. Longmuir arrived in Spain at the beginning of the week with very little expectation to do well but after a storming start to the tournament is now eyeing a ninth Senior Tour career victory.
"I played well overall,” said Longmuir. “I let it go a bit after nine holes and I missed a couple of short putts on 12 and 13 for bogey from around five feet which was a bit disappointing, but I bounced back with three birdies to finish.
“I made a few swing changes during the last few weeks with Clive Tucker and they really helped me. I am happy to be in this position, you never know how it is going to work after making swing changes and it is nice to be able to bring the chances onto the course with a scorecard in my hand.”
Cameron, meanwhile, started the week with two drivers in his bag on the practice round and remained indecisive about which one to trust the most until this morning. He clearly made the right choice as he compiled a fine bogey-free first round.
“I obviously picked the right driver,” laughed Cameron. “No bogeys today which is always satisfying and even though I missed a six foot put on the 18th for a 65 I am happy with the score. I putted really well today too and made a great birdie putt on the 17th from about 25 feet.”
Like Cameron, Australia’s Merriman found that the best part of his performance came from the most important club in any golfer’s bag, his putter.
"I played nicely holed a couple of very nice putts that make the difference in your score,” said Merriman. “I putted well all day and was reading the greens here really well – hopefully that can continue over the next two days because it is such a vital part of the game. If you can’t see the putts you are not going to make too many putts.”
Rivero, meanwhile, leads the home challenge after the Spaniard posted his own 66 to make it a four-way tie at the leaderboard’s summit. Rivero looked highly unlikely to be in contention after bogeying the first hole at El Vale Golf Resort but he rallied magnificently to haul himself into contention.
“I played really solid, my only mistake was on hole one where I made bogey because I got confused with the wind,” said Rivero. “The rest of the round I hit good shots and putted well, the longest putt I holed was eight meters on sixth hole for birdie.
“The course was tricky today with the wind but it is such a nice course, you need to put the ball on the right place, hit the right clubs and it is important to control the distances but it is in great condition.”
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 71
66 B Cameron (Eng) , B Longmuir (Sco) , J Rivero (Esp) , D Merriman (Aus) ,
67 C Mason (Eng) , J Harrison (Eng) ,
68 D Smyth (Irl) , D Durnian (Eng) , P Mitchell (Eng) , N Job (Eng) ,
69 J Stuart (USA) , J Rozadilla (Esp) , A Oldcorn (Sco) , A Fernandez (Chi) ,
70 B Smit (RSA) , G Ryall (Eng) , A Franco (Par) , J Quiros (Esp) , J Bruner (USA) , J Heggarty (Nir) ,
71 M Moreno (Esp) , G Banister (Aus) , G Manson (Aut) , P Errity (Irl) , J Cañizares (Esp) , H Carbonetti (Arg) , E Darcy (Irl) , C Williams (RSA) , S Van Vuuren (RSA) , M Belsham (Eng) , C Rocca (Ita) ,

72 G Wolstenholme (Eng) , J Gould (Eng) , F Mann (Sco) , J Chillas (Sco) , A Forsbrand (Swe) , S Cipa (Eng) , B Lincoln (RSA) , G Brand Jnr (Sco) , A Garrido (Esp) , D O'Sullivan (Irl) ,

73 G Brand (Eng) , J Rhodes (Eng) , L Carbonetti (Arg) , M Gray (Sco) ,

74 M Bembridge (Eng) , J Sallat (Fra) , A Sowa (Arg) , M Kierstenson (Eng) , G Ralph (Eng) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , S Bennett (Eng) ,

75 G Cali (Ita) , M Miller (Sco) , J Hall (Eng) , T Charnley (Eng) , A Sherborne (Eng) , E Rodriguez (Esp) , E Polland (Nir) , T Johnstone (Zim) ,

76 J Stansberry (USA) , D Cambridge (Jam) , P Dahlberg (Swe) , B Stevens (Eng) , M Piñero (Esp)

77 M Farry (Fra) , V Garcia (Esp)

78 L Cooper (USA) , M Briggs (Eng)

79 J Davila (Esp)

80 B Hardwick (Can)

88 G Hopkins (USA)