The first day of the MCB Tour Championship saw near perfect conditions which allowed for good scoring throughout, reports MARK SAMPSON.
Early in the day the pace was set by Spain’s Carl Suneson who came in on a four-under-par 68. The best score from the early starters came from Scotland’s Gary Orr who played near perfect golf on the Legend course carting a five-under round of 67.
South Africa’s James Kingston got off to a solid start on the front nine, with a cold putter making the difference between one over par after nine and five under or better. Things warmed up on the back nine with four birdies from holes 11 through to 15 keeping him in touch at three under for the day.
South African counterpart Keith Horne showed a calm head with consistent golf throughout the day. No bogeys and three red numbers on each nine left him with an impressive six under for the day, sitting in third position by himself.
South Africa’s favourite son Adilson da Silva, who is looking to continue with his consistent form through the season and retain his No 1 position in the Order of Merit, signed for a two under to leave him 20th on the standings.
On a day where 19 players came in below 70, two players sat at the top of the leaderboard.
Greig Hutcheon, sporting a glove on either hand, signed for an impressive seven under for the day with the only bogey coming on the short par-four 9th. Birdieing three of the first four holes the tone was set for the day. Further birdies came at 10 and 12 and then an eagle on the tight 13th catapulted him up the leaderboard alongside Greg Owen.
Owen had a near blemish-free round with eight birdies and only one drop shot coming on the 4th. The back nine is where the magic happened, with five birdies and no bogeys completing his round of 65.
Saturday promises much of the same with very similar conditions predicted and with the players having had time to acclimatise both to the course, and weather, one can expect fireworks on moving day.
The question is will the Legend course at Constance Belle Mare Plage have the last say?
