EUROPEAN TOUR:DARREN CLARKE, searching for a first win since 2008, made a bold move to get within touching distance of the lead on the opening day of the €1 million Iberdrola Open in Mallorca yesterday where black ribbons were attached to flags to mark the passing of Seve Ballesteros.
Clarke started on the back nine and it was difficult to tell which way the Dungannon’s man day was going to turn out. Two opening birdies were immediately given back with a pair of bogeys, before a birdie at 15, his sixth, brought him to the turn on one under.
From there it was free-flowing stuff as four birdies on the inward half left Clarke signing for a five-under 65 to be two off Gregory Bourdy’s lead. The Frenchman carded a course-record 63 and is one ahead of England’s Danny Willett.
Bourdy, a three-time winner on the European Tour and a runner-up at the Malaysian Open last month, fired nine birdies with bogeys at the 15th and seventh the only lowlights of the day for the 29-year-old at Pula GC.
“It’s always great to hold a course record. It’s very nice on Tour to get a score like this,” Bourdy said. “I made nine birdies, only two or three mistakes but it was a wonderful day.”
England’s Matthew Nixon joined Clarke in a share of third place thanks to two birdies on his final three holes. Welshman Rhys Davies was a shot adrift in fifth after a 66, with Chris Wood, Scott Jamieson, Cesar Monasterio and Jaco van Zyl sixth after 67s.
Damien McGrane gave a decent account of himself with an opening two-under 68 while Paul McGinley shot a level 70, two better than Shane Lowry. Simon Thornton, who lost his tour card last year but secured a rare place on the main tour this week, was alongside Lowry.
Without a main tour card, Gary Murphy was in a similar situation to Thornton by winning a place in the 144-man field this week, but the Kilkenny man was far from making best use of his opportunity. The 38-year-old had to settle for a four-over 74, double-bogeys at the 14th and 18th proving the main culprits in an untidy round.
After an encouraging start, with two birdies in his opening five holes, Colm Moriarty’s round fell to pieces and he finished on 10 over to lie in last place.
Colin Montgomerie, the 2010 Ryder Cup-winning captain, had a round to forget with a 77, but his successor Jose-Maria Olazabal is in contention on 71.
