Filip Mruzek holds a two-stroke lead after breaking the course record during the opening round of the German Challenge powered by VcG as Gary Hurley heads the Irish quartet competing.
The Waterford man made two birdies on the front nine and added another on 15 to get to -3 but a bogey on the par-5 closing hole was a disappointing way to finish and it dropped him back into a share of 31st.
The other three Irishmen all have work to do if they’re to see weekend action as Ronan Mullarney is a shot off the provisional cut mark at level-par, Mark Power is one further adrift at +1, and Conor Purcell has the most ground to catch up from +3.
Czech Mruzek, however, was the story of the day. Starting on the 10th, he birdied seven of his opening nine holes to turn in 29 before signing for an eight-under-par 64, two shots clear of England’s Chris Wood, who carded a 66 – his best round since winning the Italian Challenge Open at the start of May.
After getting off to a hot start in Germany, Mruzek was pleased with his effort during the early stages of his round.
“It was a great round, particularly on the front nine,” Mruzek said.
“You must be patient on days like this and go shot-by-shot. I was trying to hit a good shot from the tee, then from the fairway and give myself as many looks as possible. It could have been more today, but I am more than happy with eight under.
“Today I had good rhythm with my putter, which was a big factor. I was standing straight and it was releasing nicely which gave my good pace control. I saw the breaks so easily which also helped me on the front nine.”
The 34-year-old kickstarted his day with four consecutive gains before parring the 14th. He quickly regained momentum with three birdies in four holes to close out his opening nine, including a long putt on the par five 18th.
Mruzek’s birdie run would end on the first with his final gain of the day coming on the third, before six consecutive pars closed out his bogey-free effort.
“To be seven under after my birdie on 18 was great and I nearly holed out for birdie on the first after making the turn before birdieing the third,” he added.
“The six tap-in pars were nice and to hole the six-foot putt on the ninth for the course record was perfect.”
Mruzek won for the first time on the HotelPlanner Tour at last month’s Interwetten Open and currently sits 14th on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, one spot inside the promotion places.
Despite playing the best golf of his career to date, Mruzek is looking to remain relaxed as he chases one of 15 available DP World Tour cards upon the conclusion of the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.
“The win has given me a bit more freedom,” he added.
“I’ve been waiting ten years for that moment having played 100 tournaments without a win; It can test your patience. I just knew everything I was doing was heading in the right direction.
“Deep down I knew I was going to win. At the same time, I need to stay in my process. It would be nice to win again but there’s still three rounds to go, tomorrow is a different day, and anything can happen.”
Peru’s Julian Perico, England’s Jack Yule, German amateur Thomas Schmidt, Armenia’s Jean Berikian France’s Julien Sale and Denmark’s Hamish Brown share third place on five under par, one shot ahead of a nine-way tie for ninth on four under.
The second round of the German Challenge powered by VcG gets under way at 7:25am on Friday, with Mruzek teeing off alongside American Jhared Hack and German Tiger Christensen 8:05am.
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