James Kingston
The 2022 winner here, James Kingston, played well from tee-to-green – he’d register an eagle and five birdies in his round of 64 as he goes in search of a first win of the season.
The South African admits to his love of this short, yet tactical golf course and how it really is a “horses for courses” venue: “It absolutely is. Sometimes you when you’re on the way to an event, you either sit there dreading it, because you’re not sure how you’re going to play, or you sit there and you say, I know this is like a doctor’s consulting room – I’m going to get better when I get there! There’s something about this place that makes you feel like playing golf. The golf course is in super condition.
“I played solid enough and had a few chances, I gave myself plenty of short irons into the greens. If you had offered me six-under-par at the start of the day, then I would have been happy with that.
“I didn’t feel like I was playing my best here in practice this week, but I came out today and hit some really good shots – I hit the shots I wanted to hit most of the time. This is the kind of golf course where all you want to do is just stay in touch from round one. You don’t want to feel like you’ve fallen behind.”
Adilson da Silva
Kingston sits at the top of the leaderboard alongside Adilson Da Silva, the defending champion of this event. The Brazilian won on the Legends Tour last month, claiming the OFX Irish Legends title at Seapoint Golf Links after a play-off.
It is a strong start to the week from the player who sits in 4th place on the MCB Road To Mauritius standings going into this week: “I managed just to keep it in play and hit good tee shots, giving myself some chances with the second shots. It’s not a secret that this golf course is about keeping it in play and just giving yourself nice wedge shots from the fairway. It’s not really a long course, but you’ve got to get your tee shot in the right spot. Coming into the greens from the wrong angle it’s kind of tricky, the rough is not really up, but it’s firm and you can get some strange lies – so yeah, it’s a bit tricky.
“Early on was kind of a tricky because the wind was strong. We weren’t expecting that because the last couple of days have been perfect. It was difficult to get the right club because the wind was coming across the course.
“I feel comfortable in this course. You make a plan, you adapt, and you have to adapt quickly. The main thing for me is just trying to keep focus, not letting my mind sort of go sideways, and to be happy. If I just keep focus, do what I want to do and keep the plan going, I’ll be happy.”
Chasing pack
Euan McIntosh sits in third place alone on a day where he carded SEVEN birdies, although there would also be two dropped shots on the card – he’s at 5-under-par, while there is a group of four players all on four-under-par after rounds of 66 at Golf Club Bad Ragaz.
Greig Hutcheon started his week with three birdies in his opening four holes although that was followed by a slower run of scoring after that in his round of 66. Andrew Marshall would make the same score, thanks to five birdies – a round to celebrate as he got underway in good form, while Andre Bossert flies the Swiss flag proudly and is enjoying the home support this week, he was giving plenty of hope for the locals too – as he too made a 66. As did the winner of Q-school at the start of the year, Jyoti Randhawa.
At the close of play in Switzerland there were 17 players within four shots of the lead, setting up a great weekend at Golf Club Bad Ragaz for the second and third rounds of this Swiss Seniors Open.
See the story of round 1 here:
