Ruaidhri McGee finds himself inside the top-10 after the opening round of the Blot Open de Bretagne at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André.
The Derry man is making just his third Challenge Tour start of 2024, and is making a habit of starting strong having shot an opening 68 in Cadiz a fortnight ago. Five birdies on the day, a double bogey on the 16th – his seventh – was the only blot on his Blot Open copybook, and he ends the day in a tie for sixth three shots back.
Alex Maguire at -1 is next best of the Irish, but was left to rue a triple bogey-seven on his 16th before somehow bouncing back to birdie the next and get back into red figures.
Jonathan Caldwell is level par and tied for 44th, while Ronan Mullarney at +2 is just the wrong side of the provisional cutline.
Mark Power (+3) and Dermot McElroy (+4) have considerable work to do, but Paul Dunne looks to be heading home early after a 10-over 80.
Rupert Kaminski and John Parry share a one-stroke lead after posting six under par rounds of 64.
South African Kaminski carded six birdies in his bogey-free round to take the clubhouse lead, before Englishman Parry made seven birdies and one bogey to join him at the top of the leaderboard.
Kaminski was pleased with how he was able to navigate the tough coastal layout in Pléneuf having travelled from South Africa for the first of back-to-back Challenge Tour events in France.
“It was a really solid day and I’m very pleased with how I played,” he said. “I wasn’t too sure where my game would be at with all of the travel, I have had to do recently but I showed up today with no expectations and played really nicely.
“You have to manage yourself around this course and you can’t just hit driver off every tee. I plotted my way around the course today with a lot of irons off the tee and gave myself as many birdie chances as I could.
“I think this course suits my game because I enjoy it layouts where you have options off the tee, and I enjoy hitting those low shots and using the ground for some run into the positions you want to be.”
Parry, who currently sits in second position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, was pleased to continue his impressive recent form and is hoping to regain his DP World Tour playing privileges having lost his card last season.
“I was pretty solid tee to green,” he said. “I think the key around here is to hit the fairways off the tee because it can be quite tight. I tend to drive the ball quite well and that allows me to gain an advantage where other players might be hitting long irons.
“The tenth and 11th holes can be very tricky in the wind. I try to play them quite aggressively and take advantage with my driver and get is as far down as I can.
“I’m feeling confident in my game at the moment, and I’ve stuck to the same routines this season which has really helped me. My goal is to get my DP World Tour card back and if I can take it one week at a time I know I’m on the right path.”
Sweden’s Björn Åkesson sits in third position on five under par, while his countryman Per Längfors and Dane Jeppe Kristian Andersen are a shot further back in fourth. Seven players share sixth place on three under, including Irishman Ruaidhri McGee and Scotland’s Euan Walker.
The second round of the Blot Open de Bretagne will get under way at 7:50am local time, with Parry teeing it up at 8:20am and Kaminski at 2:40pm.
Leave a comment