Brendan Lawlor came roaring from the traps on day one of the G4D @ BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, but had to overcome a mid-round wobble to take get back on level terms with world number one Kipp Popert.
Playing together, Popert and Lawlor were expected to be two of the three leading contenders with Englishman Mike Browne, winner of the historic G4D @ CJ Cup on the PGA Tour, another favourite.
Lawlor got off to a hot start with birdie on the par-5 opening hole and added another on the par-5 fourth. Two more on the par-4 sixth and ninth holes got him to the turn at -4, covering the opening half of his round in a highly impressive 32 strokes.
But a bogey on the par-3 10th was swiftly followed by three more as all the ground gained on the front side was lost in a four-hole stretch and though he stemmed the bleeding with a birdie on the 14th, gave the shot back again on 15.
Popert, who’d been four behind at the turn, birdied each of his opening three holes on the back side to thrust himself to the top of the board, but he too bogeyed 15 and the duo were separated by just two shots heading to the two closing par-5s.
Lawlor would sign off with birdies on each of them, but Popert dropped another shot on 17 before birdieing 18 and they’d reach the clubhouse tied together at -2 with Browe lying solo third at level-par.
Australian duo Lachlan Wood and Wayne Perske round out the top five as they are locked together at +1, and it seems likely that the winner of the 36-hole event will come from this leading quintet.
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