Hugh Foley and Sam Murphy are tied for 12th and just five off the lead on a heavily bunched leaderboard at the Alps Tour’s 2026 Hauts de France–Pas de Calais Open.
The duo were both out in the afternoon wave on day one, and Foley bogeyed two of his opening eight to slip to two-over before making his first birdie of the day on the ninth and then adding two more on the back nine – 12 and 13 – to go bogey-free on the way home.
Murphy began just over an hour later and he too fell foul to a poor start as he made a double bogey on the third. He battled back to level-par at the turn thanks to birdies on both par-5s on the front, then recovered from a bogey on 11 to record back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 and they are part of a 10-strong group at -1, sharing 12th place.
Robert Moran is the only other Irishman in the field, which is limited to 66 players and held alongside the LET Access Series event which also features 66 women. The Castle man shot a three-over 74 and will need to make a significant move up the leaderboard if he’s to avoid making it three missed cuts in a row on his bid to secure a HotelPlanner Tour card via the Alps Order of Merit where he lies sixth.
Alexandre Vandermoten’s hot streak continues and fresh from his impressive victory last week, the Frenchman carded another 65 (-6) to take the lead, marking his fourth consecutive round of 65.
Vandermoten made the difference on the front nine, making five birdies, including four in a row from the 6th to the 9th. He added two more birdies on the back nine before a bogey on the 18th completed his round.
Spain’s Eduard Rousaud also enjoyed an excellent opening round, signing a 66 (-5) featuring one eagle, four birdies and one bogey.
The third-place tie is shared by Spain’s Agusti Quinquilla, who carded a bogey-free round, France’s Arthur Ameil-Planchin, and England’s Archie Smith, all of whom teed off in the morning.
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