31 January 2019: European Tour Release
Thomas Pieters will take a two-shot lead into the second round of the inaugural Saudi International powered by SBIA after taking advantage of morning conditions to post seven under in the Kingdom. Rayhan Thomas, still an amateur, produced some scintillating golf in his three-under score of 67. Gaganjeet Bhullar was just one behind the young golfer at 68. Shubhankar Sharma had a nightmarish start, as he slipped to 7-over in the gusting winds late in the afternoon.
The three-time European Tour winner recorded seven birdies in a blemish-free first round at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club to lead a star-studded field as the wind picked up for the late starters.
English duo Ross Fisher and Alfie Plant, South African Justin Harding and Australia’s Jake McLeod led the chasing pack at five under, with Italian Renato Paratore and Zander Lombard of South Africa working their way to join them for tied second in the afternoon.
Pieters hit three birdies to reach the turn in 32 but moved to four under at the first with his fourth gain of the round, to sit one shot behind Plant.
He almost took the outright lead at the fourth when his eagle putt stopped marginally short of the cup for a tap-in birdie, but the 27 year old only had to wait one more hole to do so following a great approach to six feet.
Pieters increased his advantage to two strokes, despite his tee-shot at the seventh finding the rough, as he hit a superb second to concessional range for his seventh birdie of the round to set the clubhouse target and secure just his second outright lead of his career after 18 holes.
“I hit my wedges and short irons really close to the hole,” he said. “I think I had maybe ten good chances for birdie and made seven of them.
“I thought with the wind it’s going to play quite easy. If you play in the morning, you’re going to have to make a good score. They said around 11.30 or 12.00, it’s going to pick up every day, and it did.”
World Number One Justin Rose finished on level par, while World Number Two and playing partner Brooks Koepka saw a promising start fade as he signed for a one-under-par 69. Swede Henrik Stenson enjoyed the best round of the stellar group at two under
Last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Bryson DeChambeau, who is aiming to become the first American to win successive regular European Tour events since Fred Couples in 1995, posted two under as he mixed four birdies with two bogeys.
World Number Three Dustin Johnson also fired a two-under-par 68, while playing partner and 2017 Masters Tournament winner Sergio Garcia finished one shot further back. European Tour member Patrick Reed carded three under.
“I thought I played pretty well,” Johnson said after his round. “Drove it pretty good, hit some really good iron shots. The wind definitely picked up about halfway through our front nine, which made the course play a little bit more difficult.
“But felt like I hit it well and gave myself a lot of opportunities. If I keep hitting it like I’m doing, I’ll definitely make a lot of birdies tomorrow morning.”
If I keep hitting it like I’m doing, I’ll definitely make a lot of birdies tomorrow morning – Dustin Johnson
However, the field struggled to catch the World Number 76 as Lombard and Paratore missed opportunities to take outrights second place during their respective first rounds.
Lombard propelled himself up the leaderboard when his birdie at the sixth was added to by three straight gains from the 15th to move to four under. However, his eagle putt pulled up short at the last before tapping in his fourth successive birdie.
Paratore raced to four under through five holes before picking up another shot at the ninth, only to hand it back at the next in a strong start by the Italian.
The 22 year old recorded his sixth gain at the 13th but will rue his luck as he lipped out birdie putts at the 11th, 15th and 17th; came within inches of holing out from the bunker at the par-three 16th and his putt at the last to go six under pulled up agonisingly short.
Early starter Fisher rolled in five birdies for a share of second, while Harding carded six gains and just one dropped shot.
McLeod began with a subdued back nine, birdieing the 11th before dropping a shot at the 18th but stormed the front nine with five successive gains from the first to climb into contention.
South African Shaun Norris was one shot further adrift at four under, alongside France’s Victor Perez, Dutchman Joost Luiten, Spain’s Jorge Campillo, South African pair Justin Walters and Richard Sterne, Englishman Chris Paisley and Italian Matteo Manassero on a congested leaderboard.
