Australia’s world No.12 Adam Scott was well placed to mount an assault at the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea despite getting off to the worst possible start in his first round on Thursday.
With a fierce, chilly wind ripping through the valleys around the Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Scott, starting his round from the 10th tee, put his drive into the middle of the fairway but then found water with his second shot and took a double-bogey six.
Scott warmed to his task, finishing with a birdie at the ninth to card a one-under par 71 and sit just three shots off the lead held by world No.168 Victor Dubuisson of France.
“Somehow I drove it down the middle of the fairway (on 10). But it was straight into the wind and it was freezing cold and I couldn’t feel my hands,” said Scott, the highest-ranked player in the field.
“Second shot was, you know, a cold golf swing with a stiff body. Straight in the water, so an easy double.”
Scott was just a shot behind five players tied for second place on two-under 70: Englishmen Paul Casey and Mark Foster, Richie Ramsay of Scotland, Jamie Donaldson of Wales and South Korea’s Jung Ji-ho.
Scott’s finishing flourish left him pleased with his day’s work.
“Anything under par today is a very good score,” Scott told AFP. “It’s one of those days in golf where you can lose it on the first day easily and play your way out of the tournament.
“It was important for me to scramble and stay in touch. I’ll go into tomorrow really optimistic.”
Scott was joined at one-under by eight other players on a day where a full field of 156 teed off but only 16 managed to break par.
British Open Champion Darren Clarke, playing in his first tournament in South Korea, struggled with his putting on the undulating greens and returned a disappointing five-over 77.
Casey was happy to have put his injury-hit start to the season behind him on a difficult day in the gusting winds.
“I’m very happy with two-under,” said the world No.45, who only returned to playing in March after dislocating his shoulder snowboarding in the winter.
“It’s only the second time I have played the course and conditions were completely different to yesterday. The shoulder feels great, I’m just trying to get the comfort back on the golf course.”