Bob MacIntyre opens four-shot lead in Hamburg as Paul Casey slips
Bob MacIntyre found an extra gear as he started up a controlling direct at the halfway point.
Despite making only 1 birdie over the five par-fives MacIntyre took benefit of this daytime weather that was more friendly and fired a superb 63 after first-round leader Paul Casey struggled in demanding early states at the Green Eagle Golf Club.
The Scot stormed to the top of the leaderboard on 11-under level, four obvious of Bernd Ritthammer, although Casey is now six off the pace as he continued to battle a challenging layout as well as a throat infection.
MacIntyre has had a rookie season together with a tie for sixth in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush and back-to-back runner-up finishes in May, on the Tour, and he is in place to property his success.
The gifted left-hander’s scorecard featured a notable 11 threes – six of them for birdie, and although he was unable to pick up shots in the long 15th or 16th, he hit the final green in two and readily two-putted for his seventh birdie of the day.
“I stuck to my game plan,” said the written 23-year-old. “It is most likely the best I’ve driven a ball – maybe this season. It’s not going it is heading miles. I don’t know what I’m doing but it’s working so I’m only going to try and continue to perform it.
“I can only control what I can control and that’s swinging the golf club for each individual shooter. That is all I’m going to do over the weekend as well and I can continue to keep the excellent scores coming. Especially when it’s my first time with such an outcome it is going to be hard.
“I’m going to get to learn from that experience, I am only doing the correct things about the course, doing the proper things off the course. I’m nice and relaxed and everything at home’s been brilliant so I am in the ideal mindset for moving out there this weekend.”
Ritthammer gave the home fans plenty to cheer late in the day after he birdied three of their final four holes to cover a blemish-free 66 which raised him under and alone in second position, with Casey alongside Matthias Schwab and Guido Migliozzi on five below.
Casey began with a bogey at the 10th and dropped shots at 13 and 14, but he regrouped and clawed two shots back in 15 and 18 before rebounding back from a second bogey in the third with a two in the brief fifth.
He missed a chance to contact par for the day in the ninth, although he was happy about the set-up of the course but he had been delighted with his fightback.
“I’m really very satisfied with one over as it’s such a tough golf course,” Casey explained. “Attitude is the key, ” I had a great attitude and there were options to make birdies if you stay with it, but it is very tricky.
“Not every course ought to be easy weekly, but if it were me I’d go up the temptations here because you’re bringing in far more attention into how this program is played. Hazards will be more in drama and I’d like to see men going for it a little more. At the moment it is very, very difficult, almost sort of defensive, which isn’t so enjoyable.”
Xander Schauffele, the highest-ranked participant in the area this week, made a spirited response to his opening 73 because he got into red numbers with a four-birdie 69 that lifted the entire world No 9 into 2 under alongside Thomas Pieters, who found water in the final and ran a seven up to sign for a disappointing 72.
Former Masters champion Patrick Reed was two over four over for the championship and staring at a cut, however, he dug deep into salvage a 72 that got him firmly into the weekend on flat.
But his fellow American Matt Kuchar will fly home early following a second straight 74 which began with three bogeys.
Read more here: https://nuni.or.id/?p=10145