A superb final eight holes reversed Conor Purcell’s fortunes in round one of the DP World Tour’s BMW International Open as he dragged himself back within touching distance of the cutline.
The Portmarnock man looked destined for an early flight home after bogeys on three and 10 and a double on the par-5 sixth took him to +4, but two cracking shots set up a two-putt birdie on the par-5 11th and just like that, he was up and running.
A dart on the par-3 12th led to a second successive birdie, and he added two more on the way home – the first at 16 after playing for position on the short par-4 and converting a 14-footer, then the second coming on 18 when he aggressively took on the green from 260 yards and got up-and-down for a birdie-four.
The level-par end result leaves him tied for 73rd, but just five off the lead as Golfclub München Eichenried provided a stern test for the 156-man field.
Marco Penge is part of a five-way tie for the first round lead and the Englishman bounced back from a double bogey at the par-5 18th – his ninth – with a four under par closing nine to sign for a five-under 67 and set the target on another hot day in Munich. He was later joined at the top of the leaderboard by Malaysia’s Gavin Green, Dutchman Darius van Driel, Ugo Coussaud, of France, and China’s Wenyi Ding,
Penge, who won his maiden title at the Hainan Classic earlier this year, mixed a bogey and a double bogey with eight birdies, including one to finish at the par five ninth, to make a solid start to the final event of the European Swing on the Race to Dubai.
“I obviously had a great start starting birdie-birdie on 10 and 11,” Penge said. “I felt pretty in control of my game. When I birdied 16, parred 17, I thought I’ve got some good chances coming up, especially with 18 being one of the easiest holes on the course, but seven there didn’t help the day, but it’s one of those things. Hit it in the water off the tee and made a bit of a mess of it, but played great on the back nine, it was really steady.”
Malaysian Green was the first man to join him at the top, carding only one blemish in his round of 67, while Ding dropped back-to-back shots after the turn, but rallied to finish with four birdies in his final five holes.
As the day came to a close, playing partners Coussaud and van Driel made the leading trio a quintet as they each birdied the ninth, their final hole, with the Frenchman putting the finishing touches to an impressive bogey-free round.
Six players are a shot further back in a tie for sixth, including English trio Nathan Kimsey, Richard Mansell and Jordan Smith, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, Frenchman David Ravetto, and Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa.
A total of 16 eagles were carded during round one of the BMW International Open, resulting in €16,000 being raised for BMW’s Eagles for Education campaign.
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