Stuttering start for British duo
Pre-tournament favourites Paul Casey and Stephen Dodd left themselves plenty to do after their opening rounds of the Volvo China Open today.
Casey and defending champion Dodd both recorded rounds of 71, one under par, at Shenzhen Golf Club to trail clubhouse leaders Chawalit Plaphol and Francois Delamontagne by six shots.
Thailand’s Plaphol carded two eagles and five birdies in perfect conditions while France’s Delamontagne had an eagle and six birdies in his 65.
At 61st, Casey is the highest-ranked player in the world competing for the £126,000 first prize, while Dodd, Kenneth Ferrie and Nick Dougherty are the only others in the top 100 taking part.
But the 28-year-old Englishman knows he will need a major improvement to challenge for his second victory in China in 2005 to boost his chances of moving into the world’s top 50 by the end of the year.
“A bit frustrating,” was how Casey described his opening round, which featured three bogeys and four birdies. “I didn’t hit the ball great and got stuck in a couple of bunkers.
“They have tried to remove some of the excess sand but there is so much in there the ball just plugs. I think this week you have to treat them as hazards and just not go in there.”
At least Casey could take some satisfaction from seeing Plaphol at the top of the leaderboard after tipping him to do well when asked about up-and-coming Asian players in his pre-tournament press conference.
“I’m pleased to see my tip doing so well, I should have put some money on him,” joked Casey, who played with Plaphol during his victory in the TCL Classic in March.
Dodd looked on course for a much better score than 71 when he went to the turn in 33 but a double bogey and two bogeys saw the World Cup winner stumble home in 38.
The 39-year-old was no doubt feeling the effects of his recent hectic schedule having played in Shanghai a fortnight ago, travelling straight to Portugal to team up with Bradley Dredge for Wales’ shock victory in the Algarve, and then returning to China on Tuesday evening.
“I started well enough but then it became a little bit of hard work towards the end,” he admitted. “I hit a bad tee shot on the third and made six and that knocked my momentum. I never really got back on track after that.
“It’s a little bit disappointing after being three under at the turn but you can’t win a golf tournament today. If I can shoot a decent score tomorrow I’ll be back in it but the greens are really tricky here. Even if you hit a good shot, if you get on the wrong side of the hole you are in trouble.
“It is just a case of being patient this week I think.”
Peter Lawrie was best of the Irish at three under.
