South African Richard Sterne overcame a rough practice round to shoot a flawless five-under-par 67 and take the early lead at the Nexo Championship on the DP World Tour.
Storm Floris had battered the Aberdeenshire coastline earlier in the week, with strong winds making preparation at Trump International Golf Links a challenge.
Sterne, in particular, lost “seven or eight balls” during his Tuesday practice round but turned that into a positive as conditions eased for the opening round.
“Tough start to the week, but Tuesday actually did me some good,” said the six-time DP World Tour winner.
Teeing off on the 10th, the South African bookended his opening nine with birdies before picking up further shots on the 1st, 3rd and the drivable par-four 7th.
His bogey-free round set the course record – an accolade that comes with a $10,000 bonus through a new DP World Tour initiative in partnership with title sponsor Nexo.
“The course is still tricky, but I played well,” said Sterne. “I hit it better than I have in a while – drove it well too, which helps.”
Making its first appearance on the DP World Tour schedule, the Martin Hawtree-designed layout has impressed Sterne despite testing conditions early in the week.
“It’s a tough golf course, but beautiful. If the wind stays like this, it’s playable. If it picks up, it becomes really tricky,” he said.
Sterne, playing on a membership extension category, arrived in Scotland after four consecutive missed cuts and currently sits 156th on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“It’s been a slow year coming back from injury – I’ve missed a lot of cuts. But I’ve got a long stretch ahead and I need to put some good results together. Today’s a good start.”
<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span>Photo by Ross Parker/Getty Images
Article Link: Sterne fires 67 to take lead in Aberdeen