Conor Purcell finds himself in a tie for 43rd after an opening one-over 73 in the DP World Tour’s Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire.
The Portmarnock man was among the early starters on a blustery day, and found himself well up the leaderboard after a birdie and eight pars on the front nine.
A good birdie chance went begging on the 10th, and then three bogeys in successive holes from the 12th saw him hurtling down the leaderboard.
He stopped the rot with a birdie on 15 and then parred his way home to reach the clubhouse in 73 blows, though he’ll be looking for an improvement with the putter to ensure that he earns weekend work.
Richard Sterne handled the breezy conditions to post a flawless five under par round of 67 and take a one-shot lead after day one.
The South African, starting from the 10th, carded two birdies on his front nine to make the turn in 34, before adding further gains at the par five first and par three third to climb into the early lead.
The six-time DP World Tour winner added a fifth birdie of the day after getting up and down from just off the green at the drivable par four seventh, before finishing par-par to set the new course record– which should it remain at the close of the week would earn him $10,000 through a new initiative on the DP World Tour in a partnership with title sponsor Nexo.
Sterne has struggled to find consistency this season but hopes his encouraging start in Aberdeen can provide him with the impetus for a strong run of performances over the remainder of the season and he also had a practise round in even tougher conditions on Tuesday to thank for his performance.
“When I was here on Tuesday, it was about double this wind and I lost about seven or eight balls,” Sterne admitted. “I wasn’t off to the world’s best start, but it is a lot calmer than it was then. I think Tuesday did me a bit of good.
“The course is quite tricky even though the wind is not as bad as it has been in the practice rounds. I played well. I hit the ball well, better than I have been for a while so that was quite key. I drove it well off the tees as well so that helped. It is a draining golf course, you have got to hit a lot of good iron shots. One day at a time and I am happy with today, so it is a good start for me.
“If the wind can stay like it is then it is quite playable, but I think if it gets a bit winder then it becomes really tricky. There are beautiful views and a good layout.
“I need to have some good performances. It has been a tough year. I have been coming back from a lot of injuries. It has been a very slow year, missed a lot of cuts. Not by a long way but missing them is missing them so I need to try and have some good finishes.
“I have got a long stretch in front of me now, so I need to try and put something good together. There is a long way to go this week.”
Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen and South African Thomas Aiken, who teed off together in the opening group, nearly joined Sterne at five under, but both players bogeyed the last to sit one behind in second place alongside South Africa’s Louis Albertse.
Englishmen John Parry, Jordan Smith, Matthew Baldwin, Joe Dean and Alex Fitzpatrick, who briefly led in the afternoon, share fifth position on three under alongside Spaniard Jorge Campillo, defending champion Adrian Otaegui and Dutchman Darius van Driel.
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