There is a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the European Tour, Made in Denmark tournament.
Thomas Björn / Getty Images
Thomas Björn delighted the Danish crowd at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, by sharing the lead with Felipe Aguilar and Bradley Dredge at -5 under par. The trio posted opening rounds of 66, and opened up a gap ahead of the chasing pack, the next best score was 69.
The locals were enjoying the first European Tour competition in the country since 2003, and Thomas did not disappoint them with his bogey free effort, but said it was a tricky day;
“It was a tricky day today with the wind, especially on my back nine. But I drove the ball really well and that gives you opportunities on this golf course. So I’m happy with the day, happy with the start and it was pretty solid all the way round.”
“There are a couple of holes out there you have to be careful and be happy to walk off with par. I put in a nice effort today. I have a lot of great support which is nice to come home to and it felt good today.”
“Obviously if it gets to the weekend and I’m up there it might be different. You want to go all the way in your home country, but we will deal with that on the weekend.”
Bradley was happy with his round, that included a bogey, he also mentioned the wind;
“I’m pretty pleased with that. Only one bogey and six birdies. If someone offered me 66 before I went out I would certainly have bitten their hand off. :
“It’s nice when you start getting your irons shots in closer and rattling some putts in. I holed a nice 30 foot putt on the last, which was a nice way to finish.”
“It’s not easy around here, even downwind it’s not easy to get it in close. Some into the wind are almost easier.”
Felipe was returning to golf from a month off, and thinks the cycling he did with his wife relaxed him;
“It was pretty solid today. I played quite well, especially on my back nine, which was the front. It was tough conditions and I’m really pleased the way I played.”
“I’ve been pretty happy the last four weeks. I’ve been riding my bike with a little bit of practice at the end. You have to compensate inside and outside the golf course. I was really looking forward to those four weeks off and having some family time.”
“There was some practice at the end and I got my body in shape. I’m now playing five in a row. I wasn’t playing well before the break. I needed to get back in the game, ride the bike and get the body in shape. I probably did about 1,000km on the bike. It was very intense.”
“It takes my mind off golf. My wife trains for triathlon’s and I ride with her. I don’t like the gym and so this is my way of keeping in shape.”
Another Dane is the nearest to the leaders, Thorbjørn Olesen shot a first round -2 under par 69 in the tough conditions;
“It was tough out there today. I had a tough start but I had two good up and downs on the first and the second and that kept me going. From then I played some really good shots.”
“I don’t think you get any better wind player than Thomas Björn. I thought he was going to be up there and he shot a great round this morning. It was nice to try to follow that and play some good golf. I’m not far behind and there is a lot of golf left to play.”
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