Flawless Hoey smashes Carden record
The 23-year-old from Belfast club Shandon Park, invited to this year’s US Masters following victory in the Amateur Championship last season, attributed the perfect start to regaining his touch on the greens.
Hoey had a session with putting expert Harold Swash during the Formby Hall Challenge two weeks ago and it paid off as he reeled off eight birdies to lead the field by three shots.
‘‘I had 27 putts which was much better than of late because I’d been averaging 32,’’ he said. ‘‘But I could have holed more so there is still room for improvement.’’
Hoey squeezed five birdies on the outward half which included a chip-in at the ninth as he clipped two shots off the record set in the same event two years ago by Holland’s Ralph Miller, who posted 69 today.
Swede Johan Moller was in second place on 66 and Matt McGuire was the leading Englishman a shot back.
Injury has blighted Gary Marks’s season to the extent that he hasn’t been able to play for the last 11 weeks. But he made a spectacular return at Five Lakes in Essex, shooting a nine-under-par 63 with an eagle and eight birdies.
‘‘After playing all four rounds of the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, I snapped a tendon in my hand,’’ said the 38-year-old from London.
‘‘I haven’t been able to play since and I had a cortisone injection to help me play today. I spent a long time practicing and struck the ball so solid.’’
Marks was out in 34 but made his score with a back nine of 29, which included a run of five birdies and a chip-in eagle in six holes from the 12th.
He is three shots clear of Sweden’s Jimmy Kawalec and Andrea Maestroni from Italy and four ahead of six players including the leading amateur, England boys international Steven Lewton.
Scottish players dominated the leaderboard after the opening round at the Wynyard in County Durham.
Royal Montrose amateur Graeme Brown is the surprise name leading the tartan charge with a five-under-par 66 and sits alongside Austrian Clemens Conrad-Prader in a share of second place, one shot behind early pacesetter Colin Monk of Germany.
Former Amateur champion Gordon Sherry of Cardross, East Renfrewshire’s David Orr, the newly crowned British Assistants’ champion, and the 2001 Scottish Amateur champion Barry Hume opened with 67s.
East Kilbride’s Marc Warren, who sank the winning putt for GB&I in last year’s Walker Cup, began his qualifying campaign with a three-under 68.
The leaderboard at Chart Hills in Kent was jammed solid with seven players sharing the lead on three-under 69s. Scotland’s Murray Urquhart, English trio Phil Abbott, Sam Piggot and Adam Tillman, Welshman Ian Campbell, Australian Steven Bowditch and German Tino Schuster are all tied at the top.
Scott Henderson, the 1997 European Tour rookie of the year, got his bid to return to the Volvo circuit off to a solid start with a two-under 70.
The French dominated on home soil at Moliets with Sarel Son-Hui leading the way with a six-under 66, a stroke ahead of compatriots Richard Gillot and Pascal Edmond, brother of European Tour player Olivier, and Spain’s Fernando Roca.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
