The Celtic Manor Wales Open 2008 - First Round Report
FIRST ROUND REPORT
The new Twenty Ten course drew large crowds and rave reviews from the players when it made its bow in tournament play during the first round of The Celtic Manor Wales Open.
Early morning fog soon gave way to glorious sunshine and the splendid condition of the new course, which has been purpose-built for staging The Ryder Cup in 2010, was reflected in the low scoring.
Australia’s Scott Strange leapt to the top of the leaderboard in the evening with a fantastic birdie two on his last hole, the short tenth.
Strange moved one shot clear of Italy’s Edoardo Molinari who had posted his score of 64 early in the day and looked unlikely to be caught until the Australian scorched to five successive birdies before the turn.
Many more talented players lie within striking distance of the leaders including Raphael Jacquelin and Ricardo Gonzalez at five under, and former champion Robert Karlsson and the English pair of Nick Dougherty and Ross Fisher at four under.
Phillip Price knows the spectacular new layout better than anyone as a member of the Twenty Ten Club at Celtic Manor and he led the Welsh challenge at three under par.
“I have played the course more than most,” he admitted, “but I haven’t played it in these conditions so I don’t feel I have an advantage.
“It was nice to be playing in front of my home fans, especially as I was going quite well, with everybody cheering, it was a good buzz.”
Eight-time European No 1 Colin Montgomerie was another golfer to show a welcome return to form and he was amazed to be so far behind the lead after his round of 69.
Montgomerie said: “This is a course where you’ve got to strike the ball well. There’s some decent shots in there and it’s a big golf course.
“The scores are actually very good, the standard of play surprises me.”
Many more big name players have a great chance to move into strong contention during Friday’s second round after beating par on day one, including pre-tournament favourite Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Niclas Fasth, Thomas Levet, Johan Edfors and Rory McIlroy.
After his round, Harrington will also parade his skills up close at an entertaining Master Class on the Twenty Ten driving range at 4pm on Friday.