Robert Coles and David Drysdale shone in brutally hot conditions to sit at the summit following a physically draining first round on the magnificent Golden Bear Course at Reignwood Pine Valley. The first day was a true test on the superb Jack Nicklaus-designed layout, with 25 players breaking par as temperatures soared to 36°C in the shade, with sky-high humidity.
Coles cruised to the turn in -3, picking up shots at the two early par-fives and the 7th. He ended a run of four pars in a row with back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14. His only bogey of the day followed at the 15th, but he responded brilliantly by gaining further shots at 16 and 17 before getting up-and-down from just off the edge of the final green to secure a 66.
“Any time you shoot -6, it’s a good day,” said the reigning Staysure PGA Seniors champion. “I played pretty good tee-to-green, and I holed a few putts for the birdies from fairly mid-range, so that kept me going. There were a couple of moments where I knocked it through the back of the green and managed to get up-and-down to keep the momentum. I think probably those pars were actually more important than the birdies.
“I think today you just had to keep going. It’s easy to lose your concentration. I’m diabetic and my patch fell out after 14 holes, so I’ve got to sort that out now. But that’s the sort of thing that happens when it’s just so hot. It’s unbelievable. I like to go and practice, but I don’t think it’s advisable this afternoon, so it’s just a bit of rest and dinner tonight.”
Drysdale also held a share of the first-round lead in the Tour’s previous regular event, the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy, and he raced to the top of the leaderboard with seven birdies in his first 14 holes. He parred 15, 16 and 17 before his only blemish of the day at the 18th dropped him back into a share of the lead.
The former DP World Tour player, who is playing his rookie season on the Legends Tour having turned 50 in March, will be hoping to take greater advantage of his positive start this week, having faded to a tied-17th finish in Greece.
“It’s kind of like a bit of survival out there at times,” said the man at 14th in the Order of Merit. “It’s so hot, so humid. I wasn’t really thinking about golf, I was just thinking about drinking all the time and trying to keep my concentration. It’s a great golf course and it’s in fantastic condition. It rewards good ball-striking and the greens are rolling pure. If you get it started on-line, it stays there.
“The bogey at 18 is annoying and leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, but I’d have taken that score at the start of the day. It’s just more of the same tomorrow, really. I’ve been playing some decent stuff, but I haven’t quite put three rounds together in my first few events out here, so I’d like to do that this week. These guys can play, so you have to keep going lower.”
Greig Hutcheon is alone in 3rd on -5. The Scotsman, who got his maiden Legends Tour victory at last year’s Legends Open de France, fired five red numbers in six holes in the middle of the back nine as he came home in 31 to shoot 67. He had balanced a birdie at the 2nd with a bogey at the 3rd on his outward half.
There’s a group of seven players a shot further back in tied-4th. 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie had seven birdies in his 68, and he’s joined on that number by Scott Drummond, Simon Khan, Shinichi Yokota, Simon Griffiths, Keith Horne and Van Phillips.
Order of Merit number one Scott Hend recovered well from three bogeys in a row from the 3rd to shoot a 70. The big-hitting Australian picked up shots at the 8th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 16th and 18th, with another drop at the 15th.
It was a similar story for James Kingston, who is the next highest-ranked player in the field at 3rd on the season-long points list. He was +2 through 13 holes, but he birdied four of the last five holes to rally back. That finish was reminiscent of him making five birdies in the last six holes to win the OFX Irish Legends in May. Despite their slow starts, both of them are still right in the tournament at -2, only four shots back in tied-15th.
Visit the homepage to see the full leaderboard and round two tee times, and for more information about the Reignwood Legends Championship at Reignwood Pine Valley, Beijing.
There is a live stream of the featured groups available on the Legends Tour YouTube Channel from 5am UK time (midday China time).
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