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Paul Lawrie shoots nine-under 61 to share
KLM Open lead
Paul Lawrie in action today. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Former
Open Champion Paul Lawrie flirted with the first 59 in European Tour
history in round one of the KLM Open before signing for a nine-under-par
61 at Kennemer Golf and Country Club – a score matched late in the day
by Australian Wade Ormsby.
Lawrie,
who triumphed at Carnoustie in 1999, again showed his affinity for
links golf with an eagle and seven birdies on the Dutch coast. He had
another eagle chance on the seventh hole – his 16th – but settled for birdie and parred the last two to set a new course record and continue his recent upturn in form.
His
61 was untroubled for most of the day until Ormsby produced a stunning
finish with six birdies in his last seven holes – and three in a row to
conclude the round – to grab a share of top spot.
The
pair lead by one shot from England’s Richard Bland, while five players
including home favourite Joost Luiten and last week’s runner-up in
Russia, Estanislao Goya, are tied on seven under par.
American
Tom Watson, playing in the Netherlands for the first time, opened with a
one under par 69, while Martin Kaymer, the highest ranked player in the
field, signed for a 67.
Quotes
Paul Lawrie
“I played very nicely and putted very well again. I’ve really been
putting a lot better this last little while – my new Caledonia putter is
doing the trick. My previous best was 63 in the third round of the
Dunhill Links when I won. I was ten under after 12 holes that day and
shot nine under.
“The 59 did cross my mind. I had a long putt on the seventh – my 16th
– for eagle after a lovely three wood in there, and had that popped in
there I would have only had to birdie one of the last two to make it. It
was at the back of my mind, but I’m very happy with 61. My back’s not
great. I was struggling on Tuesday and didn’t hit a single shot
yesterday, just stretched and rested in my hotel. I’ll go back there now
and do more of the same.”
Wade Ormsby
“I had a hot putter there at the end, which made things a bit easier.
I was getting a bit frustrated as I was hitting it really close but not
holing anything, but I kept on giving myself good chances on the right
side and eventually they started rolling in. That’s the lowest score
I’ve had in any round, let alone tournament golf. I’ve worked pretty
hard the last few weeks. I’ve had five weeks off back in Australia and
it’s nice to get back and on the front foot.
“My
form was very ordinary during that long run in the middle of the year
and I was hanging on, not getting any results. So I went back to Oz with
my son and practised hard for the last three weeks and it’s paying off.
I put a new putter in the back this week as well and that’s definitely
working.”
Richard Bland
“It’s always nice to make a good start. It wasn’t easy – we probably
had a two-club wind most of the day. I gave myself some good chances and
I’m really pleased with that. I hit a good tee shot on the sixth just
short of the green and pitched it in from 40 yards for an eagle two.
Those are always a bonus. It’s nice to come off thinking I haven’t left
any shots out there. Eight under equals my best score. I shot 63 in the
third round at Fota Island in 2002, when I lost in a play-off.”
Joost Luiten
“It was a very solid round. I didn’t have any bogeys today which was
the key – keeping the mistakes of my card. I had a few chances and took a
few nice ones on my back nine.
“I’ve
had three weeks off working hard on my game and it’s good to feel so
confident stepping on the first tee. I haven’t had that all year. It
feels really good to do that in front of your home crowd as well. It was
time to work on my game and just glad it has paid off. It’s always an
advantage to know the course and to have played here so many times. That
also gives you confidence.”
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
par 70
61 W Ormsby (Aus) , P Lawrie (Sco) ,
62 R Bland (Eng) ,
63 J Luiten (Ned) , E Goya (Arg) , R Rock (Eng) , D Horsey (Eng) , J Morrison (Eng) ,
64 M Madsen (Den) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , M Ilonen (Fin) ,
65 L Jensen (Den) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , M Carlsson (Swe) , A Sullivan (Eng) , S Hend (Aus) , S Gallacher (Sco),
66 M Ford (Eng) , A Johnston (Eng) , L Slattery (Eng) , D Vancsik
(Arg) , D Lipsky (USA) , T Hatton (Eng) , E De La Riva (Esp) , L
Bjerregaard (Den) ,
67 A Pavan (Ita) , J Singh (Ind) , R Green (Aus) , S Griffiths (Eng) ,
M Korhonen (Fin) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , M Lundberg (Swe) , R Dinwiddie
(Eng) , J Parry (Eng) , M Kieffer (Ger) , M Kaymer (Ger) , S Thornton
(Irl) , A Quiros (Esp) , F Zanotti (Par) , D Brooks (Eng) , E Pepperell
(Eng) , J Barnes (Eng) ,
68 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) , C Bouniol (Fra) , G Bourdy (Fra) , D
Howell (Eng) , O Fisher (Eng) , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) , T Pieters (Bel) ,
B Hebert (Fra) , D Fichardt (RSA) , A Cañizares (Esp) , D Drysdale
(Sco) , P Lawrie (Irl) , A Velasco (Esp) , O Farr (Wal) , P Peterson
(USA) , M Tullo (Chi) , B Evans (Eng) , J Scrivener (Aus) ,
69 W Besseling (Ned) , C Doak (Sco) , R Miller (Ned) , M Foster
(Eng) , P McGinley (Irl) , S Hutsby (Eng) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , B Dredge
(Wal) , R Finch (Eng) , C Paisley (Eng) , J Campillo (Esp) , C Lloyd
(Eng) , G Storm (Eng) , N Colsaerts (Bel) , E Kofstad (Nor) , M
Bremner (RSA) , G Havret (Fra) , P Uihlein (USA) , R Karlberg (Swe) ,
P Martin Benavides (Esp) , T Watson (USA) , T Lewis (Eng) , M Lampert
(Ger) , R Paratore (Ita) ,
70 S Jamieson (Sco) , T Bjørn (Den) , M Nixon (Eng) , T Olesen (Den)
, M Crespi (Ita) , M Jiménez (Esp) , A Hansen (Den) , R Ramsay (Sco) ,
C Wood (Eng) , F Osther (Ned) , R Santos (Por) , E Espana (Fra) , T
Van Der Walt (RSA) , O Wilson (Eng) , J Carlsson (Swe) , D Gaunt (Aus) ,
R Caron (am) (Ned) ,
71 S Kapur (Ind) , A Wall (Eng) , F Aguilar (Chi) , N Fasth (Swe) , O
Henningsson (Swe) , D Woltman (USA) , J Van Der Vaart (Ned) , R Saxton
(Ned) , K Broberg (Swe) , R McEvoy (Eng) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , A
Otaegui (Esp) , M Fitzpatrick (Eng) , G Adell (Swe) , P Harrington
(Irl) , D Clarke (Nir) , R Fisher (Eng) , J Krietemeijer (am) (Ned) ,
72 S Wakefield (Eng) , J Lagergren (Swe) , H Otto (RSA) , F Fritsch
(Ger) , D McGrane (Irl) , B Ritthammer (Ger), T Levet (Fra) , T
Fleetwood (Eng) , P Hanson (Swe) , R Wattel (Fra) , Y Yang (Kor) , R
Van West (am) (Ned) , M Galiano Aguilar (am) (Esp) ,
73 J Kruger (RSA) , J Ballesteros (Esp) , C Lee (Sco) , K Phelan
(Irl) , J Donaldson (Wal) , F De Haas (Ned) , P Oriol (Esp) , K Ferrie
(Eng) ,
74 N Elvira (Esp) , D Van Den Dungen (Ned) , S Strüver (Ger) , R
Kind (Ned) , P Edberg (Swe) , R Karlsson (Swe) , P Bootsma (am) (Ned) ,
75 P Maddy (Eng) , J Lando Casanova (Fra) , A Tadini (Ita) , J Roos (RSA) , D Brown (am) (Eng) ,
76 A Marshall (Eng) , J Edfors (Swe) ,
77 G Stal (Fra) ,
80 C Del Moral (Esp) ,
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