Pádraig Harrington birdied three of his final nine holes to get himself into red figures on day one of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, but a heavily-bunched leaderboard sees him in a tie for 78th.
The two-time winner of this event played his opening round at Carnoustie, site of his famous 2007 Open Championship victory, but two bogeys in a three-hole stretch before the turn left him well down the leaderboard.
Needing to find something on the back nine to avoid shooting himself out of the tournament early, he did exactly that and birdied the par-5 12th before adding a further pair back-to-back on 14 and 15 to get to -1.
Harrington moves over to Kingsbarns for round two, before tackling St Andrews’ Old Course on Saturday, after which the cut will fall.
Scotland’s Michael Stewart made a seamless switch from the Tartan Pro Tour to the DP World Tour as he took a share of the opening round lead alongside Australian Jack Buchanan.
Stewart was runner up in the three-round Duddingston Classic which finished on Wednesday. That meant he had to forgo a practice round ahead of making his debut in the DP World Tour’s Back 9 event which is played across three different links courses.
The 36-year-old birdied the third hole at Carnoustie then picked up six shots in a five-hole stretch after the turn, which began with an eagle on the 12th hole. The Scot signed for a bogey-free seven under par round of 65.
That score was matched at Kingsbarns by Buchanan, who posted four birdies in his opening six holes and picked up further gains on the tenth, 13th and 16th holes.
Buchanan is also making his debut in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and is targeting a strong performance to retain his playing privileges on the DP World Tour, with the 24-year-old currently in 167th position on the Race to Dubai Rankings delivered by DP World.
South African pair MJ Daffue and Casey Jarvis are a shot back on six under par after rounds of 66 at Kingsbarns and Carnoustie respectively. Daffue and amateur Paul Harris also share the lead in the team event with Spain’s Ivan Cantero and Thomas Jermoluk on 12 under par.
Meanwhile, fellow South Africans Hennie Du Plessis and Dean Burmester shared the lowest round of the day at the Old Course in St Andrews. The pair are part of a group of seven players on five under par.
Last week’s FedEx Open de France winner Matt Fitzpatrick, the World Number Four, is a further shot back on four under par after a round of 68 at Carnoustie. Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre opened his defence of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with a one under par 71 at Carnoustie.
Leave a comment