England’s David Horsey shot a seven under par 65 for a one shot lead on day one of the Russian Open in Moscow.
Horsey birdied four of his closing six holes to break clear of the Scotland-born duo of Scott Jamieson and Peter Whiteford sharing second place on six under par.
A further nine places share fourth place at five under par including 22-year old Belgium-born rookie Thomas Pieters and managed by the same company who look after the affairs of 14-time Major winning Tiger Woods.
Horsey teed-up on the Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club arrived in Moscow with four top-10 finishes this season including a share of ninth in last month’s Lyoness Open in Austria as the 29-year old chases a third European Tour success.
“It was a very solid round of golf though there was a few shaky holes early on where I managed to scramble a few pars with a couple of nice eight to 10 footers,” he said.
“But after that it was pretty much flawless and probably could have been a few better.
“It was a little breezier out there this afternoon but I gave myself a lot of chances for birdie.
“I have been working hard on my game the last nine to 10 months and while it’s been a bit inconsistent, the good stuff has been really good and it’s just that inconsistency and a lack of confidence with it that’s hurt a bit.
“However that comes with the territory when you bring in changes but they’re starting to bed in and I’m starting to get more comfortable.”
England’s David Horsey shoots a round of 65 to lead the M2M Russian Open by one shot on day one in Moscow. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
Horsey is currently 198th on the World Rankings and along with Jamieson, who is presently ranked 15 places higher at 183rd, are two of just three players inside the top-200 competing in the Euro 1m event.
Jamieson is targeting a second Tour victory and capped his round with an eagle ‘three’ at the par five eight hole and a birdie at the last.
Whiteford birdied four of his last seven holes and teed-up in the Russian capital having missed the halfway cut in his past eight events while the 34-year old Scot also is striving for a first Tour win in his 181st tournament.
There is 10 Russian-born players in the 114-player field including former Tennis World No. 1 and now 40-year old Yevgeny Kafelnikov who had just one birdie but also six bogeys and three double bogeys in his round of an 11-over par 83
Defending champion Michael Hoey withdrew from the event with a left foot injury that had also forced the Northern Irishman out of last week’s (British) Open Championship.
