Jonathan Yates is the leading Irishman after the opening round of the Alps Tour’s New Giza Open in Cairo, sitting three shots off the top of the leaderboard after day one.
The Naas man started strongly at New Giza Golf Club with three birdies in his final four holes leading to an impressive six-under 66 that included four further birdies and just one bogey and has him just three strokes back of Spain’s Joel Moscatel after day one.
Moscatel’s lead is just one, the Spaniard writing two eagles on his scorecard on his way to a bogey-free nine-under 63 that has him clear of France’s Clement Poletti, who holds solo second after a 64 that included one eagle and six birdies.
Another two Frenchmen, Edgar Catherine and amateur Julien Sale, share third after the first round at seven-under as both recorded seven birdies in bogey-free outings in Cairo.
Further down the leaderboard, six birdies and just two bogeys has West Waterford’s Gary Hurley as the next best Irish player after a four-under 68 which has him a tie for 12th, with Mallow’s James Sugrue also going under-par with a two-under 70 that saw him birdie two of his last four holes.
Portmarnock man Conor Purcell, who is in fine form having finished in the top-10 at back-to-back events, opened with five birdies and four bogeys in a one-under 71 which was matched by Castleknock ace David Carey to leave them both in a share of 56th.
A late double-bogey at the par-five 17th meant Druids Heath pro Simon Bryan had to settle for a two-over 74 in his first round, while The Island’s Paul McBride struggled to a five-over 77, with a chunk of the damage done by a triple-bogey eight at the par-five 14th.
- Full scoring HERE
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