Saudi International 2020: Graeme McDowell, Gavin Green take early lead
By Matt Coles
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and Malaysia’s Gavin Green share the first round lead of the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
The pair of Graeme McDowell and Gavin Green both carded 64 on the opening day at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club to lead the Saudi International by a single shot.
The Northern Irishman, who won the 2010 U.S. Open, managed to do so despite having a double-bogey on his card. He started on the 10th hole, and had seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch around the turn, parring only the 1st in that time.
Green, who is a perennial quick-starter, also began his opening round from the 10th, and had a couple of early bogeys, but went on to birdie seven of his last twelve holes to also sit atop the leaderboard in Saudi Arabia.
The pair lead by one from a group of five, including the Swedish pair of Henrik Stenson and Sebastian Soderberg, who both carded 65 on the first day in King Abdullah Economic City.
Frenchman Victor Perez, who currently sits inside the top five of the Race to Dubai leaderboard, Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas and Spain’s Adri Arnaus also are in the group in a tie for 3rd.
The English quartet of Andy Sullivan, Tom Lewis, Aaron Rai and Ross Fisher sit in a tie for 8th, alongside New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who started his round on the back nine, with six birdies in his opening seven holes, including this approach at the par-3 16th.
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Reigning Saudi International champion Dustin Johnson, and last week;’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Lucas Herbert are among those at -3, three shots back, with the runner-up from last week’s event, Christiaan Bezuidenhout a further shot off the lead.
Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry are among those in the final group under par at -1, with 47 players shooting in the red numbers on the opening day at Royal Greens. World No.1 Brooks Koepka carded a level-par round of 70 on the first day, and is alongside Race to Dubai leader Lee Westwood in a tie for 48th.
The likes of Erik van Rooyen, Ernie Els and Ian Poulter are inside the top 85, but for Patrick Reed, Martin Kaymer and Bernd Wiesberger, it was a poor day, with the trio all well outside the projected cut line. The Austrian is at +5 after the first round, and will need a big improvement if he is to be playing come Saturday morning in King Abdullah Economic City.
The action resumes at 07:15 (GMT+3), as the second round gets underway, with Graeme McDowell getting underway at 07:45. The man who shares the lead with the Northern Irishman, Gavin Green, starts his round four hours later.
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2020 Saudi International Leaderboard:
T1 (-6): Graeme McDowell (NIR), Gavin Green (MAS)
T3 (-5): Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP)
T8 (-4): Andy Sullivan, Tom Lewis, Ross Fisher, Aaron Rai (all ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL), Phil Mickelson (USA)
Selected Others:
T14 (-3): Lucas Herbert (AUS), Dustin Johnson (USA)
T21 (-2): Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND)
T33 (-1): Sergio Garcia (ESP), Shane Lowry (IRL), Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
T48 (E): Brooks Koepka (USA), Rasmus Højgaard (DEN), Lee Westwood (ENG)
T64 (+1): Ashun Wu (CN), Erik van Rooyen (RSA), Jamie Donaldson (WAL)
T81 (+2): Antoine Rozner (FRA), Ian Poulter (ENG), Ernie Els (RSA)
T94 (+3): Martin Kaymer (GER), Patrick Reed (USA), Thomas Detry (BEL)
T119 (+5): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Oliver Wilson (ENG)