Whitehouse impresses in Russia

Birmingham’s Tom Whitehouse has adopted a new relaxed but determined attitude and it paid off as he fired a six-under-par 66 to lead after the first round of the Cadillac Russian Open.

The 25-year-old admitted the mental side of his game had been costing him since he won the Estoril Challenge Open in Portugal last year but a change of perspective helped him enormously around the Le Meridien Moscow Country Club.

He carded seven birdies and only one bogey, playing with a wrist injury and in constant heavy rain for his final nine holes, to lead by one from compatriot Iain Pyman, winner of this co-sanctioned European and Challenge Tour event in 1999 and 2002, Scotland’s David Drysdale and Swedes Mikael Lundberg and Fredrik Widmark and Spain’s Jesus Maria Arruti.

“My attitude pleased me the most. I was quite relaxed and I think that is the most important part. It is nothing to do with golf it is to do with how mentally strong I am,” said the Birmingham City fan.

“Coming down 15 I couldn’t have told you what score I was on. I don’t know if I was ’zoned in’ or what. It didn’t come easy but I hit some good shots.

“I’ve had a chat with a few friends and as a result I’ve tried to feel good about myself. It has got to be about me now. I’m a business and I’ve got to work as a business.

“Now every time I walk onto the tee I have to think ’It’s my tee, it’s my fairway and my green’ instead of just walking on and thinking ’Just hit it down there’.

“I just committed to every shot and I suppose that (a 66) is what you get when you do that.”

Whitehouse woke up this morning with a pain in his left wrist but after receiving treatment he began well after reaching the 525-yard second in two to set up a birdie.

He picked up another shot at the short fourth and although he carded a bogey five at the sixth another birdie at the seventh took him to the turn in 34.

Four more birdies then came in the next six holes as he moved to six under at the top of the leaderboard, a position which he just held onto despite the best efforts of Pyman.

The 32-year-old Yorkshireman eagled the second when he chipped in from the edge of the green and followed that with birdies at the fourth, fifth and ninth, spoiled only by a bogey at the 413-yard sixth, to turn in 32.

He briefly moved to five under with a three at the 436-yard 10th but he gave that shot back at the 408-yard 12th.

Further birdies came at the 13th and 17th, although a bogey six at the 15th prevented him tying for the lead.

“I’ve been playing well for the past month or so and I’ve been in the top 10 at the last two Challenge Tour events so it was a case of coming here and trying to keep that going really,” said Pyman.

Drysdale had six birdies and one bogey, picking up three shots in his final five holes.

“I’ve been playing okay but I haven’t managed to finish anything off. It is definitely there this week. If I continue that I should be there or thereabouts come Sunday,” he said.

Welshman Craig Williams carded five birdies and only one bogey in a four-under round of 68 which put him into a tie for seventh with Leeds’ Ben Mason, Poole’s Shaun Webster and Spain’s Jose Manuel Carriles.

Former world tennis number one and Sydney Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, an eight handicapper, shot a 16-over-par 88 to be next-last.