Seven share lead at Belgian Knockout

Seven players shared the lead after the opening day of the inaugural Belgian Knockout in Antwerp.

Testing conditions at Rinkven International Golf Club stopped anyone breaking clear, with six more players just a shot off the lead.

European Tour rookies Gavin Green and Nico Geyger carded four-under 67s and sit alongside English duo Matthew Baldwin and Ryan Evans, Spaniard Jorge Campillo, Belgian Thomas Detry and Denmark’s Jeff Winther at the top of the leaderboard.

Local favourite Nicolas Colsaerts, who shot a bogey-free 68, is in the group one shot back with David Drysdale the leading Scot after a 69.

Marc Warren, Stephen Gallacher and Duncan Stewart shot level par rounds of 71 with Richie Ramsay one shot further back.

Courier Country pair Connor Syme and Bradley Neil have work to do to make the weekend.

Drumoig’s Syme shot a 75, with Blairgowrie’s Neil a stroke worse off.

“Very happy. It’s good to pull off a round like this, not a lot of mistakes, a couple of great saves. In control all day,” Colsaerts said in his post-round interview.

“I knew that the scoring wasn’t going to be that low. It’s not an easy course, you can do a lot of mistakes.

“I had to make sure that I kept focused on what I needed to do on this tight and windy day.”

Compatriot Thomas Pieters, the tournament host, faces a fight to make the weekend after a twoover 73.

In a departure for the European Tour, the first two rounds of the event are over 36 holes of strokeplay with the top 64 progressing to a weekend knockout using a strokeplay format.

Three rounds of matches over nine holes will be played tomorrow, with eight players returning on Sunday for the remaining nine-hole knockout matches.

Picture: Getty. David Drysdale: Leading Scot after a 69.