CHRIS DOAK TAKES 86 BLOWS IN FIRST ROUND

 

Jack Doherty’s three under par 69 remained good enough for the outright lead as the first round of the NH Collection Open was completed in Spain.
After play had been delayed by two hours and 40 minutes because of heavy rain, Doherty overcame strong winds to card a three under par 69 to lead by one from Welshman Bradley Dredge after day one.
The Scot came through The European Tour Qualifying School in November at the 12th attempt, but has only made one cut so far this season, finishing joint 63rd in the Tshwane Open.
Half the 144-man field returned to complete their second rounds this morning, and Doherty was briefly caught when Tjaart van der Walt advanced to three under through 13 holes, but a bogey at the eighth – his 17th – saw him the group of players tied for second after recording two under par rounds of 70.
Dredge and van der Walt were joined by Italian Marco Crespi, while swede Jens Dantorp birdied the second hole of his second round to make it a four-way tie.

Another 11 players were on one under, amongst them former Ryder Cup star David Howell and leading Spaniard Adrian Otaegui.

Read more at http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014026/news/newsid=220188.html#xDffT1QG4ZWHLbGb.99

Jack Doherty’s three under par 69 remained good enough for the outright lead as the first round of the NH Collection Open was completed in Spain.
After play had been delayed by two hours and 40 minutes because of heavy rain, Doherty overcame strong winds to card a three under par 69 to lead by one from Welshman Bradley Dredge after day one.
The Scot came through The European Tour Qualifying School in November at the 12th attempt, but has only made one cut so far this season, finishing joint 63rd in the Tshwane Open.
Half the 144-man field returned to complete their second rounds this morning, and Doherty was briefly caught when Tjaart van der Walt advanced to three under through 13 holes, but a bogey at the eighth – his 17th – saw him the group of players tied for second after recording two under par rounds of 70.
Dredge and van der Walt were joined by Italian Marco Crespi, while swede Jens Dantorp birdied the second hole of his second round to make it a four-way tie.

Another 11 players were on one under, amongst them former Ryder Cup star David Howell and leading Spaniard Adrian Otaegui.

Read more at http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014026/news/newsid=220188.html#xDffT1QG4ZWHLbGb.99

JACK DOHERTY TAMES WIND TO LEAD 

WITH 69 AT 

SOTOGRANDE



European Tour rookie Jack Doherty, pictured, stormed into the clubhouse lead after a rain-delayed opening day of the European Tour's inaugural NH Collection Open at La Reserva de Sotogrande Club de Golf, on Spain's Costa del Sol, where the Scot carded a three-under-par 69 in difficult conditions.
The majority of the field have yet to complete their first rounds.
The 31 year old Doherty, a hugely promising amateur as a youth who earned his first season on The Race to Dubai through last November’s Qualifying School, fell to a bogey early in his round but bounced back with three birdies to reach the turn in two under. After exchanging two birdies and two bogeys late in his round, the Australian-born player edged ahead thanks to a birdie at the ninth, his last.
 Play was suspended at 8:45pm local time due to lack of light after an earlier rain delay of 2hr 40min. The first round will resume on Friday morning.
Said Doherty: “It was a tough day. We had a 20yd wind on the front nine and almost a 30yd wind on the back nine, so it was strong wind. 
"The ball is going a long way downwind and it’s hardly going anywhere into the wind, but I practise on the west coast of Scotland which is normally quite windy, so I know how to play it and I just stuck to my game plan. 
“The course is lovely, it’s my first time here and I enjoyed it. I like the way it sets up and it’s in good condition. Considering we had lots of rain yesterday and last night, the course has held up nicely and the greens are fast, especially downwind. 
“This is my first year on the main tour and my main target is to keep my card for next year. That would be the main goal, as I am limited in my starts. Every week is big, but a good week here would be huge.”
At the opposite end of the scoreboard, it was not
such a good day for Scots.
Craig Lee could do no better than a 78 and David Drysdale returned a 79. 
Alastair Forsyth toiled for an eight-over-par 80 while Chris Doak fared even worse - a 14-over-par 86.
Doak started his nightmare with a triple bogey 7.
Then he had a double bogey 6 at the second followed by a quadruple bogey 8.
The first nine holes cost him 46 blows.

CLUBHOUSE SCORES
Par 72
69 Jack Doherty (Scotland)
70 Bradley Dredge (Wales)
71 Adrian Otaegui (Spain), Lorenzo Gagli (Italy), David Howell (England), David Horsey (England, Mikko Korhonen (Finland).
SELECTED SCORES
72 Anders Hansen (Denmark), Matthew Nixon (England), Alejandro Canizares (Spain), Gary Stal (France), Connor Arendell (USA), Jorge Campillo (Spain).
73 Jamie McLeary (Scotland).
76 Andrew McArthur (Scotland)
78 Craig Lee (Scotland
79 David Drysdale (Scotland)
80 Alastair Forsyth (Scotland)
86 Chris Doak (Scotland)
Retired: Simon Dyson (England).