Cormac Sharvin continued his good form at the the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open as he opened with a 2-under par round of 69 to sit in T6 position after day one.
Sharvin carded five birdies and three bogies for the day and finds himself just two shots off the pace set by Daan Huizing who continued his love affair with Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club when he took a share of the first-round with Chris Hanson.
Ireland are well represented at the event and Ruaidhri McGee is next best in T18 place on level par while Robin Dawson (+3), Michael Hoey (+5) and Conor O’Rourke (+7) have a lot of work to do today to make the cut.
The most difficult golf course on the Challenge Tour International Schedule continues to be no match for the Dutchman Huizing however as he holds the course record on the northern France layout—a nine under par 62 from his second round of the 2017 tournament—as well as a pair of top five finishes in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the event.
“I think I just understand the course pretty good,” he said. “I think a lot of guys get very frustrated around here. A lot of guys didn’t even come this week.
“I think that’s part of the fun here—sometimes the course beats you up a little bit and you’ve got to take it well and I tried to do that. I had a couple of moments today—a couple of stupid bogeys—but I just tried to swallow it and move on.”
The Soest resident did just that, and carded birdies on his final two holes as strong winds gusted and the skies opened up with driving rain.
“When the conditions are tough, I can control my ball flight pretty well and that helps a lot around here,” he said. “It’s nice to finish off with two birdies, and within a very short period of time you make your day that much better, so that was a nice bonus.”
Last year, Huizing took a one-shot lead into the final round of the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open, before faltering down the stretch.
However, the 28-year-old overcame the disappointment of that day, and several other “tough moments” when he triumphed earlier this year at the Jordan Mixed Open presented by Ayla, and is now showing the signs of maturity needed to earn his way onto the European Tour.
“For the rest of the day I can just chill out now, but there’s so much more golf to play. It’s nice to have this one in the bag but it’s a new day tomorrow, and I’ve just got to earn it all over again.”
Joining Huizing at the top of the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open leaderboard is Chris Hanson, who carded the only bogey-free round of the day.
The Englishman endured strong winds and heavy rains, as well as a brief suspension to play when the Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club greens became flooded, and will look to improve on his four birdies when he takes to the course tomorrow with a better forecast in sight.
Adding to the highlights on Day One was Italian Francesco Laporta, who made a hole-in-one on the par three fourth hole en route to a two under par round of 69.
The second round of the Hauts de France – Pas de Calais Golf Open begins at 7:30 am local time and you can following all the scoring HERE.
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