Browne escapes disqualification in Kazakhstan

Stephen Browne went from near disqualification to the top of the leaderboard at the European Challenge Tour’s Kazakhstan Open yesterday after his caddie showed up at the wrong tee for his 9.10am tee off time.

Thanks to a hold up on the 10th tee at the Nurtau Golf Club in Almaty, the Dubliner set off without penalty or disqualification and put together an excellent opening round of six under par 66 to lie in a share of second place just two off the early pace, set by Sam Osborne.

Browne leads a strong Irishchallenge, with David Higgins just one behind him on five under and Colm Moriarty a further shot back. Michael Hoey, meanwhile, posted a one over par 73.