George Bloor produced six back-nine birdies to lead by one after the opening round of the English Open supported by HotelPlanner.
The Englishman signed for a seven under par 65 at the Vale Golf Club to reach seven under par, one stroke clear of Scotland’s Graeme Robertson, who holds solo second.
“I did everything well really,” said Bloor. “I drove it well, gave myself loads of chances off the tee and putted nicely.
“I hit some good shots at the right time, then continued my momentum on the downwind holes and battled well into it. Six birdies to come home is always nice.”
Bloor, starting on the tenth, mixed two birdies with a bogey on the 17th hole to head out in one under, before that blitz of birdies after the turn propelled the 30-year-old up the leaderboard.
Gains on the first and second were followed by three consecutive birdies from the fourth, and the Englishman pulled clear at the top with an eighth gain of the day on his penultimate hole.
With strong winds testing Thursday’s early starters, Bloor was pleased with how he managed the conditions in Worcestershire.
“I made the most of the downwind holes on my back nine and gave myself wedges into holes which are usually pretty long on the card,” he added.
“I took care of the par fives well, birdied two of them and then stiffed one on a par three.
“If you drive it well, you can give yourself chances, which I did. I think you can probably get yourself into some trouble behind trees and in the deep rough if you’re not on it off the tee.”
Bloor arrived at this week’s English Open supported by HotelPlanner in promising form, having held the 54-hole lead at the Swiss Challenge a fortnight ago before eventually ending the week in a tie for second.
Sitting 47th on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings and chasing a first promotion to the DP World Tour, Bloor is eager to contend for the second time in quick succession this week.
“I’ve just got to try and give myself as many chances in tournaments as possible and focus on shooting as many low scores as I can,” he said.
“I feel like my game has been good for a while and it’s nice to see the scores backing that up.”
Spain’s Javier Calles Roman, Belgian Matthis Besard, Swede Per Längfors, Slovakian Tadeáš Tetak, Denmark’s Anders Emil Ejlersen and American Jhared Hack share third position on five under par.
Best of the Irish are Mark Power and Robert Moran on two-under while Gary Hurley and Cormac Sharvin are just below the cut line on level-par. Max Kennedy and James Sugrue are one-over while Sam Murphy is plus two. Liam Nolan and JR Galbraith had days to forget after rounds of 79 and 82 respectively.
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