By Rahul Banerji
It was Spanish Armada stuff on the opening day of the Hero Open, with three Iberians atop the leader-board in Birmingham on Thursday.
Early starter Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez fired a stunning 10-under par 62 at the Forest of Arden Marriot Hotel and Country Club course to set the bar.
Garcia Rodriguez’s card included two eagles, on either side of the turn, and two bogeys on the back nine for the 18-hole lead.
“It’s amazing, it’s my first low, low score on the European Tour,” the 31-year-old said.
Two shots behind were fellow-Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal on a near blemish-free 8-under 64 and record-setter Miguel Angel Jiminez both on 8-under par 64s in shared second place.
Shubhankar slips
Shubhankar Sharma returned to action after four months and more but could not make the most of a good start, two double bogeys on his back nine sending him down the leader-board and a 1-over 73.
The attention, though, was all on Jiminez, the popular Spaniard making his 707th European Tour start.
The 56-year-old, in his 38th year as a professional golfer, put in a strong run with four birdies on his front nine, and a matching four after the turn for a bogey-free card.
Jiminez, who broke a tie with Scotland’s Sam Torrance for most events on the Tour with Thursday’s start, is also looking to extend his record as the oldest winner ever. His last title, the 21st, came six years ago.
Woods out of FedEx event
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods has confirmed that his next appearance would be at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
Woods said in a tweet that he was “disappointed to miss the @WGCFedEx but doing what I think it best to prepare me for the @PGAChampionship and upcoming FedExCup Playoffs.”
Woods is a four-time PGA champion and two-time winner of the FedEx Cup and is currently 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings.
The most recent of Tiger’s wins at East Lake came in 2018 with an army following him up the 18th fairway to help end a title drought of nearly five years.
The PGA Championship will be Tiger’s second start on the resumed PGA Tour schedule after a 40th place tie last weekend at the Memorial Tournament in Muirfield where he had rounds of 71-76-71-76.
After the final round, Woods said he would be focused on his putting, the PGA Tour website said
“I think I need to work on my putting a bit and clean that up.
“But as far as my swing, it felt good. I was able to hit good shots. Friday was a bit off physically, but overall for my first week back, it was a lot, a lot of positives.”
Also read: Early start for Shubhankar at Euro Tour’s Hero Open
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