Trump International Golf Links
Trump International Golf Links was becalmed for the early starters in the opening round of the tournament. In a Scottish summer of golf, the weather in Aberdeenshire has been almost tropical for the players out on the links – and Thursday morning brought more sunshine and little to no wind to defend the course.
Colin Montgomerie -1 (71)
Tournament host Colin Montgomerie was amongst the early starters in round one, however, he would not get off to the start he had hoped for. A bogey at the opening hole, put the eight-time European Tour order of merit winner under early pressure. Throughout his career though, Monty has needed to show patience and resilience – and he would get the right side of par with three birdies in the five holes leading into the turn.
Unfortunately, he would start the back nine exactly how he did on the front, with a bogey before registering another at the 11th. He would make just one more birdie before signing for a one-under-par round of 71: “I just need to maximize every score I have; at the maximum I could have played out there – and that’s what I do every round. This has been a busy week as tournament host, obviously, which has been great. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, it’s just disappointing that you can’t score 67!
“I played the par fives two-over-par, so I’ve given back the field three shots because you got to be one under on the par fives.
Montgomerie is to take a break from golf after this week’s Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, to deal with health issues. He is preparing to step away from golf for a few months – a sport where he has won eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, 31 European Tour wins, played in the Ryder Cup 8 times and won as captain at Celtic Manor in 2010.
The tournament host spoke about his impending time away from the game, following his round of 71 at Trump International Golf Links on Thursday: “I haven’t been well recently, I haven’t been well for the last six months. After this week, I’m back to London and I’m taking a lot of time off now. I’ve never done that in my life. I’ve never done that in 40 years – I feel like I need to. I’ve kept it quite quiet, but I’m not well, so we just keep going and we’ll get through Sunday.”
Peter Baker -2 (70)
Peter Baker is the defending champion, winning this title on this course last year with a comfortable six shot margin to the runner-up, Greg Owen. The warning to the rest of the field was how settled he appeared to be here once again on his return. Birdies at the first, fourth and sixth holes ensured he made the turn in 33 shots, while another one on the 10th put him into an early share of the lead on day one. However, his round would finish with two bogeys in his final three holes for a round of 70.
Scott Henderson -4 (68)
Born and raised in Aberdeen, this is a home fixture for Scott Henderson – and he was making the most of the friendly conditions on Thursday morning. An engineer before he turned pro at the age of 22, Scott was building a great score with five birdies and no dropped shots through his opening nine holes.
He would then birdie the tenth and 11th holes to get to 7-under-par on the day and lead by three clear shots. However, a bogey at the 13th followed by a double-bogey on the 14th dropped him back into a share of the lead and tightened up the top of the leaderboard.
Henderson would sign for an opening round of 68 to sit at four-under-par going into the second round: “Delighted with that, obviously. I got off to quite a fast start, and it seemed easy for a little while, you know, I was having decent shots and the putts I left myself weren’t that difficult.
“I caught a really bad lie just off the edge of the fairway and had to take unplayable. Then I made bogey before a double-bogey at the next, just like that. The course can do it to you here, but if you come out the right side of par every time then you’re never disappointed.
“I think this course is beautiful, but it’s penal – so, if you are a little bit off and not feeling your best on the tee, it’s going to get a bit claustrophobic. It’s not the kind of golf course you can swing with a lot of freedom and just give it a smash. You’ve got to manage your golf ball around here.
“It’s big week for me, I mean, we played hard to get into this tournament. With it being on my doorstep, it’s great. I had Carnoustie last week and I’ve got this here this week. Two big tournaments like that standing in your own back yard, that’s not the norm.
“We had some great crowds out there today, it’s nice to see people because it’s a difficult golf course and everybody gets to go in the fairway. It’s great, you get right in amongst the action, it’s good from a spectator’s point of view. It’s very relaxed and nice to see everybody out there.”
Gary Orr/Simon Khan -4 (68)
Fellow Scotsman Gary Orr would also register an opening day round of 68, as would Simon Khan. Six birdies and two bogeys on the card for Khan as he joined the group of four-under-par: “It was lovely out there this morning when I started on the 10th, not a breath of wind early on. Then it got up a little bit, but only like half a club. Really happy with that score and a good back nine for me. A nice four-under-par round, so I’m happy with that. On my second nine it was all about good putting really. I played quite well today, and I played well last week in Carnoustie.
“I hit the ball really good last week, I just didn’t putt that well. Here I just got a good feel on the greens and just tried to be a bit more reactive and a bit more natural on the greens. It was a pretty idyllic morning for golf for a great golf course. Some of those tees, when you’ve got a 20 mile an hour wind blowing into your face, it’s not so nice. But the sea was like a millpond this morning and it just makes life a lot easier, not having to second guess that wind direction – that definitely helped today. I’m sure the wind will blow at some stage this week though.
“The fairway bunkers last week at Carnoustie and everything about that place was tough, the rough was up – so it has just felt like there is actually a bit more space here, believe it or not! I know the dunes are severe, but the fairways are generally a little wider. Having said that, it’s a great test of golf as well.”
Jarmo Sandelin -4 (68)
The leaders were joined at -4 by Jarmo Sandelin late in the afternoon. The Swede won the Swiss Seniors Open just three weeks ago and didn’t drop a shot on his way around Trump International Golf Links in 68 blows:
“I’m very happy because the Trump International Golf Links course is a very tough course. You need to keep it straight, make good second shots and have your putter hot too. I’m very pleased – bogey free as well, quite remarkable.
“I find a good rhythm for the moment in my game, I hope that I can keep it. I feel very comfortable with my game and with my experience, I just have to let it go and see how far it takes me and not try to hold it back.
“Ian Woosnam gave me a good tip with my driver here, so thank you Ian! I didn’t play well at Carnoustie, but I’m very happy with my score today. Links golf is very special and it suits my game much better than traditional golf, because I normally hit it very low.”
The chasing pack
Sitting just a single shot behind the leaders after the opening day are Robert Coles, Michael Campbell and Paul Eales, while local hero Paul Lawrie is in a group of seven players at two-under-par which also includes Scott Hend, Peter Baker and Patrik Sjöland
Staysure Show Stage
Away from the fairways and greens, spectators in the championship village were treated to some incredible Ryder Cup insight – from four winning Team Europe captains during the afternoon. José María Olazábal, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam and Paul McGinley went onto the Staysure Show Stage together after their rounds to answer fans questions, give some understanding of what it takes to lead a team to victory – and have a laugh along the way too!
Round 2 - Friday 2nd August
The second round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship gets underway at 7:30 on Friday morning, tickets are available via the tickets tab at the top of this page, or on the gate.
The Staysure Show Stage in the championship village will feature a Q&A with Major champions on Friday lunchtime with Paul Lawrie, Michael Campbell and John Daly joining spectators.
