Thomas Bjorn/ Getty Images
European Tour event the Barclays Singapore Open got off to a slow start as play was suspended midway through the day. Thomas Bjorn, of Denmark was the clubhouse leader at the suspension of play, with his -5 under par round of 66 at the Sentosa Golf Club. Thomas had won three times on the European Tour last year, but has yet to record a victory in 2012, but he said he always enjoys coming to Singapore, commenting that it is not a long course;
“I came here and saw the golf course, and knew that everything was about driving the golf ball well. It’s not the longest golf course in the world, so if you can keep it in the fairway you can produce a score, and I did that very well today. It’s only round one though, so we’ll work from here. I always enjoy coming to Singapore and Malaysia., you have got to pace yourself a little bit, and not use too much energy through the week. It is quite nice for the body to be feeling nice and warm out there, with no cold for the old joints to get you into trouble”
There are three players who have finished at -4 under are, they are Simon Khan, Chinnarat Phadungsil and Pablo Martin. The former BMW PGA Champion Simon Khan led the way for most of the morning but slipped up with two bogeys in his last three holes, Simon remarked on the heat out on the course;
“The heat wasn’t quite as intense first thing, but it soon warms up here. Round the front nine I really got it going nicely but on the back nine maybe I didn’t hit it quite where I wanted to. I dropped my first shot on sixteen, trying to get a bit cute between clubs, then just hit a bad tee shot on the last. I wasn’t really concentrating on the tee, I think by that point the heat had got to me a little bit, but overall I was pleased how I handled it today, and it’s a good start.”
Pablo Martin needs to climb 51 places by the end of next week to retain his playing privileges and to hopefully avoid a trip to the Qualifying School, he hopes he can put together four good rounds this week and is yearning for some good luck;
“I haven’t been playing or scoring well all year really. I haven’t been able to put together four decent rounds in a row, which has been very frustrating. But hopefully my luck will turn here, and this can be my week. I’ve got two tournaments left until the end of the season, so I want to make the most of them and finish the season strongly.”
Phil Mickelson has had a miserable day, finishing at +2 over par, after his opening round of 73. Rory McIlroy has played eight holes and is cruising along at par, while Adam Scott has completed his round at par. Play will resume early Friday morning, preceding the second round.
I was expecting some much lower scores on this course, as the players have been allowed to pick and place the ball, just because there there could be some mud on the ball. Play the ball as it lies, that is what we all have to do.
I am going on a golf trip at the weekend, and there is no WIFI where I am going so will have to catch up reporting on this tournament when I return.
