A fine birdie at the last secured an opening round of 64 and the outright lead, one shot clear of last week’s Grass & Co. English Legends winner Steve Webster, Euan McIntosh, Markus Brier and Mikael Lundberg. Former Ryder Cup player Phillip Price also enjoyed a strong start to the week with an opening 66 to sit a shot further back.
Australian Hend has been in fine form in recent weeks with fourth place at the ISPS Handa Senior Open and third at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship helping to cement his lead at the top of the Legends Tour Order of Merit. He hit the ground running at Galgorm with three early birdies, and although the middle of the back nine proved challenging after some errant tee shots, a superb approach to the par-five 18th garnered a decisive eighth birdie and sole possession of top spot.
“I got a little bit lucky out there,” said Hend. “I hit a couple of trees and had it drop down where I had a shot to the green so I was quite fortunate. It was a case of hit it, find it, hole the putt. Last week, I couldn’t hole a putt, this week I had my putter bent into a slightly different loft and I’m actually starting it on the lines I’m looking at.
“My own form is up and down. One week I can win, one week I can finish 20th. It’s how I play golf. I’m aggressive, I have a crack. It comes off or it doesn’t, that’s how you win a golf tournament. I don’t want to come 25th every week. It’s all about mindset for the week and how I’m rolling the putter. Every golf course has a key, and if you can find a key there’s a possibility you can shoot a good score.”
Shooting good scores is certainly something that one of the chasing pack – Steve Webster – knows all about. The Englishman stood at -12 after two rounds last week and maintained the momentum from his maiden Legends Tour win at Brocket Hall with another superb round that included an eagle at the 9th.
Scotland’s Euan McIntosh sits alongside him at -7. “It was a really good first day. I holed a bunker shot and it really got everything going. I started making birdie putts and you just get on a roll and get carried along with it,” said McIntosh, who made almost 500 appearances on the DP World Tour. “I had a lesson about four weeks ago and it gave me something that I hadn’t even thought about for two years. I’ve struggled with the putter in that time and what he told me has really helped. It’s just starting to bed in now, hopefully it will continue.”
With the greens softened by heavy rain, the players took advantage of favourable conditions as the scoring average dipped towards 70 on this excellent par-72 layout where water is a constant danger. Wedge play and putting came to the fore and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg certainly excelled in that regard.
Having made his birdies early on, he held the round together with a string of superb wedges to also get in the house at -7. “I made some good recoveries coming in. Holed a 12-footer for par on 16, hit another bad drive on 17, chipped out and hit a wedge to three feet and then I hit another great wedge shot on 18 to two feet for birdie. Sometimes it’s just small things, but those saves there helped a lot. Everybody here can shoot a 69 but to get a really low one, you need those. You have a lot of wedge shots and the greens are perfect. But you’re not going to make all of them, so you need to give yourself a lot of chances.”
Markus Brier is the fourth player in the group at -7, with the Austrian having notched up back-to-back eagles on the front nine. He pitched in for two on the par-four 8th, before holing a lengthy eagle putt from the fringe on the next. “I got a bit excited after that,” said Brier, who has two victories on the DP World Tour to his name. “I haven’t had two eagles in a row for a long, long time. I hit a lot of greens and then was a bit shaky over the last few holes, but then chipped in on 17. It was one of those days where everything goes for you.
“The course is in brilliant shape, the greens are awesome. They have good pace and they’re really true. So that’s I think what makes this scoring easier. I wasn’t happy with my putting so I recently changed putter and it worked brilliantly. Sometimes you need to make a change. Not just because it’s a better putter, just that you need a new view.”
With heavy rains forecasted for Saturday the tee times for round two have been moved up. Check www.legendstour.com for details.
Tickets for the weekend are available online or on the gate, with under-16s free.
