Already locked into the Race to Dubai playoffs, The Netherlands’ Joost Luiten is aiming to improve his spot in the standings, not to mention the thickness of his billfold.
Luiten fired a 6-under 65 Thursday to take a 1-stroke lead over two other players at the ISPS Handa Wales Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.
Just 1-under at the turn, Luiten racked up six birdies on the back nine, with a sole blemish – a bogey on No. 17. Five of those birdies came in the six-hole stretch between No. 11 and No. 16.
He leads Nicolas Colsaerts and Andrew McArthur by one stroke each. Like plenty of other Scots, McArthur has at least one eye fixed back home, where today the general public voted whether or not Scotland would declare independence from the UK. The results are expected tomorrow morning.
Colsaerts was 4-under at the turn, but had lost a shot until he eagled the par-5, 613-yard No. 18. McArthur was +1 after two holes, then made three birdies in the next four holes.
Other Race to Dubai contenders in the Top 10 after the first day are the UK’s Tommy Fleetwood, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, all tied for seventh at 3-under.
None of the four Ryder Cup team members for Europe are in the top 10 after the first day. Wales native Jamie Donaldson is tied for 28th with Scott Warren at 1-under, while Denmark’s Thoma Bjorn is 44th at even par. The UK’s Lee Westwood made out the worst of the quartet, firing a 2-over 73 that featured three bogeys in his last five holes.
GolfBlogger.co.uk 