Hansen shrugs off problems to share lead
New clubs, no practice round and a pain in the neck surprisingly added up to a share of the lead for Denmark’s Anders Hansen in the KLM Open in Zandvoort.
Hansen, winner of the European Tour’s flagship PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2002, pulled out of the pre-tournament pro-am after waking up with a stiff neck on Wednesday.
That meant the 35-year-old was unable to practice with the new clubs he was testing ahead of next week’s USPGA championship, and with Kennemer GC staging the event for the first time since 1990 was somewhat in the dark on the exposed links course.
But five birdies and an eagle helped Hansen to an opening 65, six under par, and a share of the lead with France’s Christian Cevaer after a blustery and overcast day.
Pre-tournament favourite Colin Montgomerie could only manage a 70 despite being three under par after eight holes, while the battle for Ryder Cup places never caught fire.
Ireland’s Paul McGinley, who currently occupies the final automatic qualifying place, birdied two of the last three holes for a one-over 72, one shot better than nearest rival Paul Broadhurst who is 11th in the standings.
Broadhurst will have done little to impress European captain and playing partner Ian Woosnam, a double bogey on the 18th forcing him to settle for a 73. Woosnam birdied the same hole in his 72.
Hansen explained: “I woke up on Wednesday morning and couldn’t move my head. I wanted to play the pro-am because I’ve never played the course before so I had treatment from the physios but all I could do was chip it around so I decided not to play.
“I’m still struggling, and the wind and cold is not doing it any good, but I knew I was swinging the club well.
“I got away with the bad shots today and I putted very well, which was huge because it’s hard to knock it close in the wind.
“I felt I’ve been playing quite well but Ping came out with a new set of irons where they changed the weight of the head a little to help the long irons carry a bit further.
“I thought that would be great for next week in America so I took them out of the box on Monday afternoon and today was the first time they’ve been out on the course.”
Scoring was surprisingly good despite the blustery conditions and Scotland’s Raymond Russell was among those to return a four-under 67 to lie just two off the lead.
Russell lost his card last season after finishing 119th on the Order of Merit, just three places from safety, and has been struggling with a shoulder injury as he tries to regain his playing privileges.
“Hindsight is a great thing but I don’t know if I should have played the Challenge Tour all year and not played the main tour events I’ve been kindly invited to or got in through my ranking,” said the 34-year-old from Prestonpans.
“I’ve also been having a bit of trouble with my shoulder, but that cleared up on Monday so this is the first time in six weeks I haven’t been popping painkillers.
“I think the shoulder wasn’t in its socket properly and I have to go back to my chiropractor on Monday to see if it is all cleared up now.”
Montgomerie reverted to a belly putter on his return to action following a two-week break since missing the cut in the Open at Hoylake, but was disappointed to bogey two of his last five holes.
The world number 15 said: “I played very nicely all the way round but just didn’t hole enough putts on the way back. I’m very disappointed to finish with a bogey on the 18th.”
The 43-year-old Scot famously double-bogeyed the 18th to lose the US Open at Winged Foot and then bogeyed the 18th in the first round the following week at Gleneagles.
“I have to play well elsewhere to counteract the last hole which I’m bound to bogey,” he added.
Fellow Scot and playing partner Marc Warren fared even worse, the 25-year-old carding a 76 just four days after claiming his first tour victory in the Scandinavian Masters.
“I feel totally unprepared,” admitted Warren, who holed the winning putt in the Walker Cup at Sea Island in 2001.
“Last week took a lot out of me and I wasn’t really focused on this tournament until I got out on the course. It’s all a learning experience.
“I was four over after three holes but managed to come back a bit after that. It could have been a lot worse but I managed to hang in there and I was pleased with my temperament.”
IRISH: Peter Lawrie -2, Damien McGrane -2, Gary Murphy -2, Pau McGinley +1 and David Higgins +1.
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