Original title: Three players in the first round of the Catalonia Championship lead Li Haotong T4 Wu Ashun T107
(Golf European Tour/Text)On April 29, Beijing time, the first round of the 2022 Catalan Championships kicked off. After a day of fierce battles, Chinese player Li Haotong made 1 eagle, 4 birds and 1 bogey, with a score of -5, and is currently ranked T4. Another Chinese player, Wu Ashun, made 3 birdies and 6 bogeys, finishing with +3 strokes and is currently ranked T107.
Leading the leaderboard, two South African players Darren Fichard and Oliver Baker, and Denmark’s Jeff Winter led the score with -6. Li Haotong was one stroke behind Germany’s Sebastian Heisler and England’s James Morrison.
Li Haotong T4, Wu Ashun T107
Li Haotong started from the 10th hole at 8:35 a.m. local time on the first match day. Facing the morning sun, Hao Tong’s hand was also full of vitality. He made an eagle on No. 12 not long before he went out and made another birdie just before the turn.
(Li Haotong in the game)
After the transition, Haotong’s status continued to be online. He made birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes. Although he suffered a bogey on the fourth hole, he then made another birdie on the 8th hole to eliminate the bogey. After completing 18 holes, Haotong recorded 1 eagle, 4 birds, 1 bogey, and -5 on his scorecard. He also ranked T4 for this reason.
Wu Ashun felt a little ups and downs on this match day. Starting from the 1st hole, he made a bogey right out the door. Ah Shun gradually recovered and finally made birdies on holes 6 and 7, turning his score into a red letter before the transition.
(Wu Ashun during the game)
On the back nine holes of the course, Ah Shun made a birdie on the par-5 12th hole, but then suffered bogeys on the 14th to 18th holes. In the end, he could only finish with 3 birds, 6 bogeys, and +3 strokes. Currently ranked T107, he needs to work harder on the second match day.
Leaderboard
This year’s Catalan Championships are held in Girona, in the Catalonia region of Spain. It was in Girona 50 years ago that the European Tour (the predecessor of the DP World Tour) took its first steps into the world. Therefore, the tournament organizing committee invited Spanish player Antonio Garrido, who won the first European Tour championship 50 years ago, for an honorary kick-off this year.
This year’s Catalan Championships are played at the stadium of the PGA Catalan Golf and Fitness Club in Girona. The course has just been upgraded, and the difficulty and deception of the course have increased significantly.
(First round leaderboard)
South African Oliver Baker, who made his DP World Tour debut this year, had an impressive first match day. Starting from the No. 1 hole, he played steadily on the front nine holes and made three birdies to enter the transition time.
Coming to the back nine, he first made a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole, but he passed by birdie on the next three holes. On the last par-5 15th hole and the par-4 17th hole, he made 2 birdies again. In the end he ended the first match day with a -6.
(Oliver Baker in the game)
The seven-time winner of the Sunshine Tour of South Africa said after the game: “I’m very happy with the result. It’s a very tough field, you can’t relax in the slightest, if you hit the ball out of the fairway, even a little bit, it’s not going to work. There’s going to be a penalty. You can’t relax on this golf course for a moment.”
His compatriot Darren Fichard started from the No. 1 hole in the afternoon local time. In the case that the results of the players who started in the afternoon were generally not high, Fichard became an “outlier” among them.
He was tepid on the front nine with two birdies. After the transition, his touch ushered in an explosion. From the 10th hole to the 17th hole, he won 6 birdies, the score rose to -8. However, he made a double bogey on the par-4 18th, which dropped him to -6 and had to share the top spot with two other players.
(Darren Fichard in the race)
Fichard, who has five victories on the DP World Tour, was pleased with his performance on the day. He was injured at the beginning of the year, so he played very solidly in this game. “On this court, you can’t play too aggressively, you have to be patient and accept that you may make mistakes,” he said.
(Jeff Winter at the game)
Denmark’s Jeff Winter, who won the Mallorca Golf Open in 2021, had 7 birdies and 1 bogey on the match day, and he was ranked T1 with -6.Return to Sohu, see more
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