Gary Orr shot the only bogey-free round of the day to sit at -5 and lead by one shot from Patrik Sjöland and Andrew Marshall after a tricky first round on the Open Course at WINSTONgolf.
He started on the 10th and parred the first eight holes, before getting things moving with his first birdie of the week at the 18th. He defied the blustery conditions by picking up four more birdies on his inward nine, including a pair of twos at the 4th and 7th holes.
Three groups before Orr, Sjöland had set the clubhouse target of -4. Last year’s Barry Lane Rookie of the Year also started on the 10th and got to -5 through 10 holes courtesy of birdies at the 10th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 1st. He double bogeyed the 5th but picked up a shot at the par-5 9th to complete a 68.
It’s a welcome start in pursuit of his third Legends Tour win, as Orr is down at 51st in the MCB Road to Mauritius, with a best strokeplay finish this season of tied-20th at the Swiss Senior Open.
“It felt tough going early on, and I was just hanging in there,” said the two-time DP World Tour winner. “I managed to make a good birdie on 18, which was my 9th hole, and then played really nicely and made a few birdie putts. I holed a big, long putt up the tier on the 2nd hole from miles away, so that was a bonus. And then another long one a couple of holes later. I managed to get a bit of a run going and then hit to two iron shots into a couple of feet away on 7 and 8.
“It’s really enjoyable when you go bogey-free. No mistakes is always good. It was a tough day, actually. The wind got up and it was tough to pick the direction sometimes, so I was really pleased. I think you just need a wee bit of luck, and a couple of good putts for par early on in the round. That helped just keep things ticking over early on. My putting was quite good, and I didn’t put too much pressure on myself after that by hitting lots of greens. It’s a very nice start.”
Marshall has been in good form this season, with four top-eights, including a runner-up finish at the HSBC India Legends Championship. He racked up seven birdies, including four in his last seven holes, but also had a double bogey on the 2nd and a bogey on the 12th.
Last week’s European Legends Cup winner and MCB Road to Mauritius number one Adilson da Silva is alongside Phillip Archer, who has been a runner-up at the last two WINSTONgolf Senior Opens, in a tie for 4thon -3.
Eight players are at -2 after starting the week with 70s, including Andre Bossert, Van Phillips, Jean-Francois Remesy, Markus Brier, Euan McIntosh, Mikael Lundberg, Raphael Jacquelin and Jarmo Sandelin.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the full leaderboard and second round tee times, and to find out more about the WINSTONgolf Senior Open at WINSTONgolf, Vorbeck, Germany.
