Simon Khan overcame a weather-affected first day on the La Forêt course at Le Touquet Golf Resort to put himself in pole position in his hunt for a maiden Legends Tour victory.
The Englishman played the back nine first and made a superb start with birdies at the 11th, 12th and 14thholes. He was -3 when a thunder and lightning storm with heavy rain descended on the north French coast. Play was suspended at 12.48pm and there was a delay of just under two hours with the opening round resuming at 2.45pm. Khan continued his momentum with another red number at the 3rd and a birdie-birdie finish to reach -6.
“I played really solid today,” said Khan. “I’ve been playing well in the last few weeks, and I felt good on the range earlier. I hit every green in regulation today, which is good. I was really pleased with my game from tee-to-green, and it was nice to hole a couple of putts at the end, because I felt like I played well enough for that birdie-birdie finish.
“I think coming out after a break is always a bit tricky because you sort of feel like you’re starting again, but my first few swings were good, and you sort of feel like you get back into it. It helps having my daughter Ruby on the bag and she helped me focus. When you start off again, you can easily lose that a little bit, so she kept me on it today and got my mind on the job, which was good.”
Khan held the first-round lead in his last start – the Zambia Golf Legends Championship – although he faded to a tied-19th finish. He was also in the final group on Sunday and finished alone in 3rd at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie, so he’s getting used to being in contention again in recent weeks.
“I feel like sometimes I’m trying so hard to do well that I end up pushing it away a bit. I’m determined to play loose the next two days, trust it, and not really worry too much about the scores because I know that doesn’t work for me. I haven’t won on this Tour, so that’s not working. So just go out and enjoy it. That’s how I used to play really, without any expectation. I think that’s the big thing, expecting to do this or that. You know, it never really works. So, no expectations and just play with freedom.”
James Kingston is one shot back in tied-2nd. The 2022 MCB Road to Mauritius champion circled red numbers on the 2nd, 5th, 10th, 13th and 16th holes in a blemish-free 67. He sits 11th in this year’s Order of Merit, but the nearest he’s come to adding to his three Legends Tour wins is a runner-up finish at the Paul Lawrie Matchplay and tied-3rd at the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy.
He’s joined by Qualifying School graduate Carlos Balmaseda, who also didn’t drop a shot on the tree-lined layout. The Spaniard turned in 34 and picked up further shots at 11 and 14 before knocking a brilliant approach into tap-in range at the final hole.
This year’s Swiss Senior Open winner Jarmo Sandelin, Legends Tour debutant Brian Davis and England’s Gary Evans are tied-4th on -4. There’s an eight-way tie for 7th on -3, which includes last week’s victor in India, Joakim Haeggman, MCB Road to Mauritius number three Scott Hend, Staysure PGA Seniors Championship winner Robert Coles, and two-time senior major champion Roger Chapman.
Defending champion Adilson da Silva started on the 10th hole and he got to 3 under par through 11 holes, but he made three late bogeys to shoot a level-par 72.
