HANSEN LEADS WEATHER-DELAYED 

MADEIRA OPEN WITH A 68 (-4)

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Joachim B Hansen moved into the clubhouse lead at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI, courtesy of a four-under-par 68, before heavy rain and the resulting flooded greens caused  an overnight suspension.
After the beginning of the 23rd edition of the tournament was delayed by 24 hours, and a further one hour and 50 minutes on Friday morning, due to strong winds, the first round finally got underway at 9:40am on the second day at Clube de Golfe do Santo da Serra.
There was enough time for all of the morning groups to finish their rounds and Dane Hansen’s bogey-free round was all the more admirable, considering the windy conditions at the mountain-top venue.
Having started at the tenth, the 24 year old former Challenge Tour Graduate picked up shots at his opening hole and the 12th before replicating that on his back nine with birdies at the first and third.
That moved him one clear of Frenchmen Jean-Baptiste Gonnet and Adrien Saddier as well as Englishman Andrew Marshall, who all carded 69s, while Finland’s Roope Kakko was three under through 14 holes and Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark was three under through eight before heavy rain called a halt to proceedings.
The first round will resume on Saturday morning at 8am. The expectation is that the tournament will be reduced to three rounds, if not two unless the weather improves.

Player quotes
Joachim B Hansen: “I felt great out there and it’s a good start. I missed a short one on the 11th hole for three birdies in a row to start but I feel confident with my swing and I know where the ball is going. I just need to control it in the wind.
“I didn’t really make any big mistakes, I hit a wrong club at the sixth from the tee and that got me in trouble but I holed a good putt for par. That was about the only trouble I was in today.
“The course is nice, really good conditions, and it’s good they made the greens that much slower so the ball doesn’t roll in the wind.
“No bogeys was pretty impressive, I’d take that every day. I didn’t feel nervous out there and I just knew what to do. I actually played with the wind most of the time so if it was left to right, I hit a left to right curve and the same with right to left, both from the tee and into the greens. I had a lot of control out there.
“I just have the feeling that I can shoot any score right now and four under was a lot better than I expected. I think it is possible to go lower out there because I had 30 putts today and I missed a few short ones for birdie. But you can’t make every putt.
“It would be nice if (the tendency to shoot very low scores) came back to me. I struggled last year, I just needed one big result – I made a lot of cuts but needed the top ten finish to keep my card. It’s a big confidence boost, it’s very nice to feel the game is back to where I think it can be.”
Adrien Saddier: “I had a great back nine. I made a really nice chip at ten and my game was really good after that, I made some good putts and hit some nice shots and I just needed to stay focussed shot by shot.
“The wind was straight on the back nine so it was better to keep the ball straight and hit good shots. My game was good recently and I just needed to stay focussed and hit good shots.
“It’s not easy with all the delays but I was here last year so I know to be patient this week and see what happens when we get out on the course.
“This course suits me well because you don’t need to take out the driver very often so I can hit the irons off the tee and that helps to keep it low and hit fairways.”
Jean-Baptiste Gonnet: “This morning was really tough with the wind. I started at the tenth and it was terrible.
“I played really well though to be honest, in those conditions it is a really good round. I played solid and it was just my day, I holed two chips in a row at the fifth and sixth for birdie.
“My game is in good shape and I was very patient, but when you come here you know what to expect – the wind is going to blow and you’re going to have stops and starts in play so you have to be patient, that’s the key this week.
“This is my first event so it’s not a bad way to start the season with a three under here. My game is in good shape, I’m back with my old coach, who I was with for a long time and things are much simpler for me now. I’m not thinking too much about technique or anything like that.
“I just want to enjoy it out on the course and that’s it. This is a big event for us on the Challenge Tour and, even when it wasn’t the first event of the season, it’s always an important one for us so you know you have to play well here.”

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
+A large number of players have still to complete their first rounds. 
COMPLETED ROUNDS 
par 72

68 Joachim B Hansen (Denmark)
69 Andrew Marshall (England), Adrien Saddier (France), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France).
SELECTED SCOTS
73 Jack Doherty (Scotland) (T56)
77 Alastair Forsyth (Scotland) (T124)
78 David Law (Scotland) (T129)

SCOTS' UNCOMPLETED ROUNDS
Elliot Saltman Two under par after 11 holes.
Peter Whiteford  Two under par after 11 holes
Jamie McLeary One under par afer 11 holes
George Murray Level par after nine holes
Andrew McArthur One over par after eight holes
Wallace Booth One over par after five holes
Scott Henry Two over par after eight holes.

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