Scot Robert MacIntyre brilliantly birdied his closing two holes in a bogey-free 65 and lead after day one of the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown.
MacIntyre’s six-under par effort handed him a one-shot lead and just four days after the 24-year old posted a final round 65 last Sunday to share third place in the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open.
Last year’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ was naturally pleased with his showing.
“I’m delighted. Again, I played great golf,” he said.
For a second time in just four days and Robert MacIntyre shoots a 65 at Aphrodite Hills
“A few mis hits off the tee, but it’s one of those golf courses where I can open my shoulders a little bit more and give it a little bit extra. I missed a few putts that were still shaving the edges of holes but overall, it was a good round of golf.
“The course suits my eye. I said it to Mikey and my coach at the start of last week. Visually there are certain shots that, if it was a different sort of wind, I wouldn’t like them, but with the normal wind direction it suits my eye. I’m rolling the putter great.”
And helping the Oban-born lefty capture a first Tour victory was the decision ahead of last week to pack new irons into his bag.
“The new irons are brilliant as I’m hitting numbers,” he said.
“At Wentworth we weren’t hitting numbers and before that the lofts kept going stronger and we were struggling. Now we’ve got new irons everything is perfect and my golf is showing that there was something wrong. To have fixed that has been a big help.”
Sharing second place are seven golfers on five under par, including Romain Langasque, of France, and Finland’s Sami Välimäki – both winners on the 2020 Race to Dubai – and 2014 Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson.
One group remained on the course when play was halted due to darkness, with Round One to be completed on Friday morning.
This week’s Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown has a first-of-its-kind format on the European Tour, with the top 32 players and ties making the cut for Saturday’s third round. All scores will then be reset, and the top 16 and ties after the third round will go through to Sunday, with everyone starting again from level par in a one-round shootout with the winner receiving a cheque for €200,000.
