Paul Dunne got off to a hot start at the Kaskáda Golf Challenge to sit two shots off the lead at the end of a weather-battered day in the Czech Republic.
The Greystones man had to endure a rain delay in the middle of his round but he didn’t let that ruin his scorecard as he managed to finish with a five-under 66 at Kaskáda Golf Resort to lie a couple of shots behind Martin Simonsen and Jeremy Freiburghaus.
The leaders both finished with seven-under 64s, with Simonsen missing a makeable birdie putt on the 18th to hold the lead outright before Freiburghaus joined him later in the day after a round that included a trio of birdies around the turn.
“I feel tired, but happy,” said Simonsen. “Seven under is always nice but I wish I would’ve got to eight. I missed a short one on the last but that happens.
“I didn’t know what to expect this week because I’m quite tired, but getting an eagle to start with helps everything. It was a good drive, a little bit in the rough but hit it to 17 feet and I made it, so I’ll take it.
“I made a bad bogey on eight and I was a little bit frustrated with my game because I played quite well but I made two silly bogeys. I felt like I should’ve been better but then I made a good up and down on nine and made some really good birdies after that. It felt like playing back home at night, it was quite nice to be out here with no wind, so I was quite lucky.
“This week is all about relaxing as much as I can, because it’s my fifth week. I’m saving up the energy for the hill on number one, that’s a hike. When I get past that tomorrow I’ll be very happy.”
Dunne will be pleased with his day’s work, though, as he shrugged off the disruption to card seven birdies and two bogeys in a fine round that has him tied for sixth, one shot behind Robin Pettersson and Borja Virto, who are at six-under.
Portugal’s Pedro Lencart is also at six-under with one hole still to complete after poor light suspended play due to the delays caused by the weather, with a couple of groups returning early on Friday to get their final few holes in.
Four birdies and one bogey represented a solid opening round for Conor Purcell, who began his week with a three-under 68, with Robin Dawson, Tom McKibbin and James Sugrue each starting with two-under 69s to all sit inside the projected cut line.
Niall Kearney will hope for better fortunes in his second round as he sits just outside the mark after a level-par 71, while Gavin Moynihan needs an even bigger turnaround after a three-over 74.
Meanwhile, Charlie Williams endured a rough opening day as he signed for a 12-over 83 at Kaskáda.
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