Round one report
Matteo Manassero posted his lowest round for over eight years as an eight under par 64 handed him a one-stroke lead after the opening day of the Dormy Open.
The Italian’s 64 at Österåkers Golfklubb was his lowest round on either the European Tour or European Challenge Tour since the 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and he leads by one from Sweden’s Björn Hellgren and Frenchman Victor Riu, who share second place on seven under par.
The four-time European Tour winner admits he did not expect the scoring to be as low as it was on the Henrik Stenson designed Öster Course but rode the wave of momentum to post the low round of the day.
“To be honest when we practiced I didn’t see scores like that coming but it was one of those days in which things went the right direction,” he said.
“Everything about this course is difficult. Off the tee the fairways are quite wide but if you miss, most of the time it’s in the water so you are just taking penalties.
“There was not much wind today but when the wind picks up a little bit, it becomes a real challenge, even off the tee. The greens are very slopy, fast and quite firm to be honest, so you’ve got to be precise with your second shot.
“You have to be precise with your first, with your second and then you need quite an imagination on your putting because the greens have really hard slopes, so it’s a really complete course. Henrik did a great job.”
Manassero carded nine birdies and a single dropped shot on the opening day in Sweden and he is hoping to build on his solid start as he eyes his maiden Challenge Tour title.
“I played well and everything seemed to go in the right way, so I’m really happy and hopefully I can keep it going,” he said.
“The game was not so strong last week. I practiced a bit and it was stronger today. I was obviously really surprised and delighted with how I played today and I am looking forward to the next few days and we’ll see how it goes. In golf, there is always a new day in a good and a bad way, so I’ll just keep my focus and do my own things.”
Hellgren and Riu share a two-shot cushion to Swedish trio Hampus Bergman, Henric Sturehed and Jesper Svensson, Finland’s Roope Kakko and American Douglas Quinones, who all share fourth place on five under par.
The second round of the Dormy Open will begin at 7:30am local time on Thursday May 20, with Manassero playing alongside Irishman Gavin Moynihan and Denmark’s Martin Simonsen at 8:40am.
Scores after round one:
64 M MANASSERO (ITA),
65 V RIU (FRA), B HELLGREN (SWE),
67 H BERGMAN (SWE), J SVENSSON (SWE), H STUREHED (SWE), D QUINONES (USA), R KAKKO (FIN),
68 M GALIANO AGUILAR (ESP), S MATUS (CZE), L RUUSKA (FIN), E KOFSTAD (NOR), M SIEM (GER), O BEKKER (RSA), F NILEHN (SWE), M PENGE (ENG), M CARLSSON (SWE),
69 C LINDH (SWE), J FREIBURGHAUS (SUI), J GIRRBACH (SUI), M BALDWIN (ENG), A ARIZABALETA (COL), A WILSON (ENG), F MORY (FRA), L NEMECZ (AUT), C ROSS (SCO), D PAPADATOS (AUS), O HUNDEB?LL (DEN), L VACARISAS (ESP), J GEARY (NZL), A WILBERTSSON (SWE), D KEMMER (USA),
70 R GOUVEIA (POR), N KIMSEY (ENG), F PALSON (SWE), E DI NITTO (ITA), C BLOMSTRAND (SWE), C HOWIE (SCO), N M?LLER (DEN), G MOYNIHAN (IRL), J GARCIA DEL MORAL (ESP), H MAGNUS (ISL), T CLEMENTS (ENG), A PLANT (ENG), I CANTERO GUTIERREZ (ESP), M ROHWER (RSA), M LAMPERT (GER), J SANDBORG (SWE), R PETERSSON (SWE), Y PAUL (GER), R VAN WEST (NED), M SVENSSON (SWE),
71 C ROBB (SCO), K KOIVU (FIN), P ERIKSSON (SWE), D YOUNG (SCO), K JOHANNESSEN (NOR), A KARLSSON (SWE), F BERGAMASCHI (ITA), E WALKER (SCO), J LANDO CASANOVA (FRA), B VIRTO (ESP), H ARKENAU (GER), S HENRY (SCO), S TARRIO (ESP), M LINDBERG (SWE), E CUARTERO BLANCO (ESP), H LONG (GER), J FAHRBRING (SWE), M GRADECKI (POL), C HANNA (USA), S GROS (FRA), A BLOMME (SWE), D BOOTE (WAL), M ERIKSSON (SWE), A TIDEN (SWE),
72 F MACCARIO (ITA), M HOEY (NIR), D GAVINS (ENG), T MCKIBBIN (NIR), M SIMONSEN (DEN), N JOHANSSON (SWE), B JONES (ENG), J WRISDALE (ENG), C BERARDO (FRA), G BOYD (ENG), B WINDRED (AUS), C SAHLSTROM (SWE), D HILLIER (NZL), J KAHLOS (FIN), A EINEVING (SWE), G KRISTJANSSON (ISL), T BALTL (AUT), J BLAAUW (RSA), B EASTON (RSA), J JONES (CAN), S PETERSEN (SWE), C PURCELL (IRL), J PAUL (GER),
73 O FARRELL (ENG), S TILEY (ENG), E NORDLUND (SWE), S FORSSTR?M (SWE), A ZEMMER (ITA), J FELTON (AUS), M BREMNER (RSA), D FOOS (GER), A KNAPPE (GER),
74 A ISACSSON (SWE), D LAWSON (AUS), G STAL (FRA), J SUGRUE (IRL), J KO (FRA), J ARNOY (NOR), B NEIL (SCO), N FENWICK (SCO), M ORRIN (ENG), D BORDA (ESP), F LACROIX (FRA), G KING (ENG), K REITAN (NOR), P L?NGFORS (SWE), E DUBOIS (FRA), T SLOMAN (ENG),
75 E BERTHEUSSEN (NOR), O LINDELL (FIN), B MOORE (ENG), H ELLIS (ENG), M LUNDBERG (SWE), C MIVIS (BEL), M WEIDERMAN (SWE), J HANSSON (SWE), M ORTOLANI (ITA), T PLUMB (ENG), O GILLBERG (SWE),
76 F SCHOTT (GER), P EDBERG (SWE), A AHOKAS (FIN), D PERRIER (FRA),
77 G BOURDY (FRA), T KOIVISTO (USA), L JOHNSTON (SCO), E LIPPARELLI (ITA), M HELLIGKILDE (DEN), J THOMSON (ENG),
78 S GREGORY (ENG), M WIEGELE (AUT), D HUIZING (NED),
79 B HENSON (USA), J K?LBING (GER), S IDSTAM (SWE),
80 E LINDWALL (SWE),
81 R DAWSON (IRL),
**
OUT E FERGUSON (SCO), A DAYDOU (FRA), A JOHN (GER),
