Duo tied at the top in RAK Golf Challenge
ras al khaimah — Max Orrin and Pontus Widegren led the way in the opening round of the Ras Al Khaimah 2016 Golf Challenge, both firing seven under par rounds of 65 to share the lead at Al Hamra Golf Club.
The pair also now share the course record, which was yet to be established, and hold a one-shot advantage over the field in the penultimate European Challenge Tour event of the season.
The stakes this week are high for everyone, though Sweden’s Widegren — currently 61st on the Road to Oman — is in particular need of a good performance, with only the top 46 in the Rankings qualifying for next week’s season-ending > Scores after round 1: 65 P Widegren (swe), M Orrin (eng), 66 e Kofstad (Nor), M Wiegele (aut), s henry (sco), r Langasque (Fra), 67 r Fox (Nzl), G Porteous (eng), N cullen (aus), J hume (Irl), G Forrest (sco), 68 J dantorp (swe), r Kellett (sco), s Forsström (swe), P Maddy (eng), r santos (Por), J White (eng), M Kinhult (swe), J edfors (swe), d stewart (sco), d Law (sco), c Ford (eng), J Girrbach (sui), W besseling (Ned), 69 M Lampert (Ger), J smith (eng), M schneider (Ger), s Jeppesen (swe), c selfridge (Nir), J Makitalo (Fin), P Oriol (esp), b ritthammer (Ger), M søgaard (den), c blomstrand (swe), N ravano (Ita), a rai (eng), J stalter (Fra), b Poke (den), 70 O stark (swe), L Gagli (Ita), s Fernandez (esp), b stow (eng), M armitage (eng), a saddier (Fra), r saxton (Ned), M delpodio (Ita), c del Moral (esp), d Perrier (Fra), r enoch (Wal), J heath (eng), a Tadini (Ita), s Tiley (eng), 71 V riu (Fra), d huizing (Ned), d Gaunt (aus), d Van driel (Ned), a björk (swe), b hellgren (swe), J Lima (Por), M Ovesen (den), d Frittelli (rsa), a Karlsson (swe), P angles (esp), e Johansen (Nor), J Garcia Pinto (esp), r Thomas (am) (Ind) NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.
“I’m trying to see it as a ‘nothing to lose’ situation,” said the 26 year old. “There’s pressure, but I really feel very loose this week – the goal is to qualify for Grand Final, but I’m just trying to stay loose and keep playing well.
“I started off quite well last week in China but I couldn’t really keep it going, I maybe tried a little too hard to stay up there. But I like the weather here and I’m playing some good golf.
“It’s been a very tough year, and I’ve struggled to put the scores together for a long time. That changed in Kazakhstan, and a top ten there is what got me into these tournaments at the end of the year to give myself a chance of keeping my card.
“I had a crazy start today, everything just went my way and went in. There’s a few good opportunities early on, and I gave myself a lot of chances, and if you take advantage of it you can get off to a fast start.
“I managed to make some really good putts on the other holes as well, and it just kept going. I’m enjoying my time here, it’s a lovely place and I like this kind of golf in the UAE.”