POWERFUL PARRY IS FIRST ROUND LEADER WITH A 64 AT CASTLE STUART

      JOHN PARRY driving to the lead. Picture by courtesy 

                                 of Getty Images(c)

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Englishman John Parry continued his recent renaissance with an eight under par round of 64 to take the lead on the opening day of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.

Parry won in France en route to graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2010, but two years later he had to return to the Qualifying School in Spain, where he retained his playing credentials by winning the six-round marathon.

The 26 year old missed seven of his first ten cuts this year, but finished in 14^th place in Madeira and tenth in Germany recently, and his improvement continued apace with a flawless display at Castle Stuart Golf Links, near  Inverness Airport.

Parry’s compatriot Simon Khan, who lost out in a play-off to Matteo Manassero in the BMW PGA Championship in May, is one shot back on seven under par whilst American Phil Mickelson shares third place on six under with leading Scot Chris Doak and five others.

Parry, who finished joint 28^th in the US Open after coming through Qualifying, said: “I think I know what it’s all about now. When I lost my card, maybe I panicked a bit coming into the last few events, because I knew I was struggling. You just have to make sure you do the right things all the time and you’ll get the results.

“I’ve been playing better lately. I think the US Open was the catalyst for me to start playing better, because it gave me the belief and confidence to know I could compete with the best players in the world.”

Mickelson, of course, came close to adding to his tally of four Major titles at Merion, only to lose out to Englishman Justin Rose.

But after claiming on the eve of this week’s £3million tournament that the scar tissue had healed, he promptly proved it with six birdies and an eagle at the 12^th hole.

“It was a good start,” said Mickelson, who missed the cut in the Greenbrier Classic last week on his first appearance since finishing runner-up in the US Open.

“We had perfect conditions for the first 14 or 15 holes, and there are opportunities on this course to make birdies and eagles. It’s an above average round, but there were opportunities to pick up three or four shots that I let go, so I have to get a little sharper.

“There was a good chance to go really low, but I’m pleased to get off to a good start because I’ve got off to poor starts the last two years here, and been struggling to get into contention.”

Khan, playing in the first group out at 7.30am, had set the clubhouse target on seven under par after closing his round of 65 with an eagle on the 18^th, but Parry birdied the same hole in the following group to overhaul his fellow Englishman.

 

ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES

Par 72  

64 J Parry (Eng)

65 S Khan (Eng) 

66 T Jaidee (Tha) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) , J Morrison  (Eng) , S Lowry  (Irl) , M Ilonen  (Fin) , P Mickelson (USA) , C Doak (Sco) 

67 M Delpodio  (Ita) , R Sterne  (RSA) , P Larrazábal (Esp) , T Olesen (Den) , D McGrane (Irl) , R Derksen (Ned) , G Lockerbie  (Eng) , P Uihlein  (USA) , P McGinley (Irl) , J Singh (Ind) , L Gagli  (Ita) , M Siem  (Ger) , K Horne (RSA) 

68 S Little (Eng) , T Levet (Fra) , S Gallacher (Sco), C Wood  (Eng) , P Waring  (Eng), D Howell (Eng) , D Willett  (Eng), J Van Zyl (RSA) , R Fisher (Eng) , E Goya (Arg) , C Lee (Sco) , A Quiros  (Esp) , C Lloyd (Eng) , G Bourdy (Fra) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , M Nixon (Eng) , J Hansen  (Den) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , M Laird  (Sco) , B Wiesberger  (Aut) , S Webster (Eng) , L Jensen (Den) 

 69 A Levy (Fra) , E Pepperell (Eng) , A Kaleka  (Fra) , M Baldwin (Eng) , M Southgate  (Eng), S Benson (Eng) , D Horsey (Eng) , R Ramsay  (Sco) , S Kjeldsen (Den), P Whiteford (Sco) , D Lynn (Eng) , S Henry  (Sco) , G Maybin (Nir) , J Edfors (Swe) , F Molinari (Ita) , G Mulroy (RSA) , R Wattel  (Fra) , D Clarke (Nir) , S Thornton (Irl) , P Lawrie (Sco) , M Manassero (Ita) , M Fraser (Aus) , G Hutcheon (Sco) 

70 B Koepka  (USA) , E De La Riva  (Esp) , R Wallis (Eng) , B Åkesson (Swe) , D Drysdale (Sco) , F Aguilar (Chi) , G Havret  (Fra) , P Casey  (Eng) , T Pieters  (Bel) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , R Green (Aus) , H Otto (RSA) , J Lara (Esp , H Stenson (Swe) , N Fasth (Swe) , S Dyson  (Eng) , R Santos  (Por) , C Cévaër (Fra) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , T Fleetwood  (Eng) , D Brooks (Eng) , C Paisley  (Eng) , M Madsen  (Den) , N Colsaerts  (Bel) , M Carlsson  (Swe) , P Harrington (Irl) , S Chowrasia (Ind) , K Kang (SKor) , D Fichardt (RSA)

71 J Kruger (RSA) , A Forsyth (Sco) , M Warren (Sco) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , B Grace  (RSA) , M Foster (Eng) , R Coles (Eng) , L Slattery (Eng) , I Garrido (Esp) , D Higgins (Irl) , A Tadini (Ita) , E Grillo (Arg) , M Wiegele  (Aut) , G Orr (Sco) , R McEvoy  (Eng) , R Bland (Eng) , M Kieffer (Ger) , T Lewis (Eng) , J Lagergren (Swe) , S Wakefield (Eng)

72 E Els (RSA) , S Lyle (Sco) , M Thompson  (USA) , M Lundberg (Swe) , E Kofstad (Nor) , T Björn (Den) , R Finch  (Eng) , M Tullo (Chi) , R Rock (Eng) , S Arnold  (Aus) , J Campillo (Esp) ,

73 O Fisher  (Eng) , F Zanotti (Par) , G Storm  (Eng) , C Macaulay  (Sco) , M Lafeber (Ned) , T Aiken (RSA) , M Jiménez (Esp) , F Andersson Hed (Swe) 

74 W Liang (Chn) , K Broberg (Swe) , S Hansen (Den) , O Floren  (Swe) , J Sjöholm (Swe) , J Olazábal (Esp) , M Hoey  (Nir) ,

75 P Price (Wal), A Noren  (Swe), J Gonnet  (Fra) , A Sullivan (Eng) ,

76 A Snobeck  (Fra) , J Byrne  (Sco) , S Henderson (Sco) ,

77 A Dodt (Aus) , A Hartø  (Den) , G Murray  (Sco) , P Lawrie (Irl) ,

78 J Walters (RSA) 

79 M Lampert (Ger)

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS