DP World Tour : Nexo Championship Tee Times Leaderboard
Marcus Kinhult holds a two-shot lead over a chasing pack that includes amateur Eliot Baker after the first round at the Nexo Championship in Scotland.
The Swede mixed seven birdies with two bogeys in a -5 67 over the Old Course at Trump International Golf Links, on a day of testing conditions that demanded patience.
Baker, who was announced on Tuesday as part of the Great Britain and Ireland team for next month's Walker Cup, is one of four players at -3 69 alongside fellow Englishman Andrew Wilson, France's Félix Mory and Zimbabwe's Benjamin Follett-Smith.
Kinhult, whose sole DP World Tour victory to date came on UK soil at the British Masters in 2019, came close to his second title earlier this season as he finished tied second in Belgium.
Among the afternoon wave who enjoyed the better of the weather as the morning rain cleared away and sunny skies appeared, albeit with strong winds, Kinhult produced a hat-trick of birdies on his back nine to hit the front late in the day but conceded he was far from at his best.
"It was a very ugly minus five," he said. "Tee to green, it was not great to be honest.
"I’m not going to complain, I’m very happy with the score, but I was a little bit off off the tee, and also into the green.
"My short game and putting was unbelievable today, which obviously helps, so I’m happy with the score."
"When I walked outside this morning at 7 o’clock, it was raining pretty hard and it was cold, so I think we got the better draw today. It was tough.
"It’s slightly different this year, I remember last year the wind was the other direction, so the course is playing completely different, so it’s a good challenge for sure."
Starting at the first, Baker, the sole amateur in the field, capitalised on the downwind first to get off to the dream start with a birdie.
"Didn't really know what to expect from today, but I just enjoyed the experience out there and thankfully it went well," said Baker, winner of last year’s Scottish Men’s Open Championship at North Berwick.
"I've no expectation this week, just purely trying to enjoy it, gaining the experience and hoping it builds me as a player."
HotelPlanner Tour graduate 31 year old Mory who has made four of his last six cuts on the DP World Tour was thrilled with his performance.
"Just keep doing the same thing. I mean, it's going to be blowing, we're in Scotland, you know? So probably a lot of low shots and yeah, just stick to what I'm doing and just do the best I can."
32 year old Follett-Smith made his first cut on the DP World Tour since May last week, is a two-time winner on the HotelPlanner Tour. He made birdies at the tenth and 16th as he dropped just the one shot on his front nine at the 15th, capitalised on the par fives that played downwind over the front nine, before he recovered from a bogey at the eighth to set up a tap-in birdie at the ninth.
There were then eight players at -2, including Danish duo Jacob Skov Olesen and Lucas Bjerregard, English pair Matthew Southgate and Haydn McCullen, Japan's Keita Nakajima, Australia's Jason Scrivener, Sweden's Albin Bergstrom and Scotland's Scott Jamieson.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus
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