Gavin Green Leads Czech Masters After First Round 64

Malaysia’s Gavin Green holds the solo lead of the D+D Real Czech Masters, after shooting an eight-under-par first round of 64 at the Albatross Golf Resort.

Gavin Green holds the lead of the event for the second straight years, having been in a tie for the lead at the end of the first day in 2018.

This year’s first-round saw Green have two runs of three successive birdies. He had nine in total on Thursday morning, with a single dropped shot coming at the par-three 13th.

It was a low scoring day in Prague, with 90 players shooting under par. 20 of those are within four shots of Green going into the second round.

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Two sit just a shot back, as Englishman Lee Slattery and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen. The latter shot a bogey-free 65, while Slattery had six birdies and an eagle to go a bogey on the 2nd in his round of seven-under, including this monster putt.

A group of six sit on six-under, after shooting rounds of 66 at Albatross Golf Resort on Thursday. They including another Englishman, in Callum Shinkwin, who hit five birdies in a sixth-hole run on the back nine.

Also in that group in a tie for 4th are Italian Ryder Cup star Edoardo Molinari, who shot a bogey-free round of 66. Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, Denmark’s Joachim Hansen, and Finland’s Kim Koivu lead the Scandinavian charge at -6, while Chile’s Hugo Leon, the only South American in the field, is also in amongst that group inside the top ten.

Former Czech Masters Champion Thomas Pieters is among those who sit three shots back after the first day, along with fellow Europeans Bernd Wiesberger, Liam Johnston and Robert Karlsson.

Last year’s winner, Andrea Pavan, is with those a further shot back at -4, in a tie for 16th. He is joined by the South African pair of Brandon Stone and Bryce Easton, among others.

The other three former winners of the event have had differing first days in Prague. 2017 champion Haydn Porteous shot a three-under-par round of 69, while 2014 winner Jamie Donaldson is a further shot back at -2. Meanwhile, American Paul Peterson, who won the 2016 Czech Masters, struggled on Thursday, shooting a two-over-par 74 round the Albatross Golf Resort course.

France’s Romain Wattel, who sits at -4, is amongst the first group out at 07:15 on Friday morning, along with Pep Angles and Aaron Lietmannstetter. Teeing off from the 10th will be Gavin Moynihan, Christofer Blomstrand, and Masahiro Kawamura.

Leader Gavin Green will tee off at 08:25, alongside Darren Fichardt, who sits at -5, and Adrian Otaegui, winners of this year’s Belgian Knockout.

Leaderboard:

1 (-8): Gavin Green (MAS)            T2 (-7): Erik van Rooyen (RSA), Lee Slattery (ENG)

T4 (-6): Callum Shinkwin (ENG), Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Joachim Hansen (DEN), Hugo Leon (CHL), Kim Koivu (FIN), Kristoffer Reitan (NOR)

T10 (-5): Jason Scrivener (AUS), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Thomas Pieters (BEL), Liam Johnston (SCO), Robert Karlsson (SWE), Darren Fichardt (RSA)

T16 (-4): Zander Lombard (RSA), Andrea Pavan (ITA), Bryce Easton (RSA), Romain Wattel (FRA), Kalle Samooja (FIN), Soomin Lee (KOR)

Selected Others:

T22 (-3): Haydn Porteous (RSA)            T39 (-2): Jamie Donaldson (WAL), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)

T72 (-1): Marc Warren (SCO), Stanislav Matus (CZE)            T91 (E): Scott Jamieson (SCO)

T109 (+1): Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Brandon Stone (RSA), George Coetzee (RSA), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Ernie Els (RSA), Lee Westwood (ENG)

T128 (+2): Paul Peterson (USA), Raphael Jacquelin (FRA)