Robert MacIntyre did just fine last week at the Cyprus Open, he finished with a piece of third place and got acquainted with the challenging Aphrodite Hills Golf Club.
MacIntyre used last week’s knowledge and form to open with a six-under par 65 Thursday that put him well on his way toward making the cut to 32 players on Friday in this unique new European Tour format.
The young Scot was last season’s Rookie Of The Year in Europe and the fact he’s left-handed makes him easy to spot in the field. His day one effort at the Cyprus Shootout put him a shot in front of Thomas Detry of Belgium, Jamie Donaldson from Wales, Swedes Rikard Karlberg and Joakim Lagergren, Frenchman Romain Langasque, Sami Valimaki from Finland and Chinese star Ashun Wu.
Not everyone finished, there was one group left on the course when they ran out of daylight. The low 32 after the second round will move on to Saturday. It took two-under or better to be in that group after day one.
As for MacIntyre, he was a happy man after his round.
“I’m delighted,” said MacIntyre. “Again, I played great golf. A few mishits off the tee, but it’s one of those golf courses where I can open my shoulders a little bit more and give it a little bit extra. I missed a few putts that were still shaving the edges of holes but overall it was a good round of golf. The course suits my eye. Visually there are certain shots that, if it was a different sort of wind, I wouldn’t like them, but with the normal wind direction it suits my eye. I’m rolling the putter great. The new irons are brilliant. I’m hitting numbers.
MacIntyre also understood that one good round doesn’t mean all that much in this format. “I’m trying to lead every round of golf that I play – and I’m leading after today. Hopefully lead after tomorrow and once it’s back to level, again you want to win every day. That’s my approach this week. It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow with the weather coming in. I’ll just take it a day at a time.”
After the low 32 and ties are determined by day’s end Friday, the scores will reset and the field will be trimmed to the low 16 and ties for the Sunday finale.
Over on the mainland of Greece, the country is preparing for a lockdown due to COVID-19.
The new restrictions are due to take effect from Saturday, and all unnecessary movement will be prohibited. People will have to notify authorities by email or SMS on their movements, which are limited to trips to work or visiting a doctor or someone who requires care. They will also be allowed to leave home to purchase food.
There’s no report if the lockdown will affect play in the tournament.
Friday Update: Seems they didn’t have enough daylight to finish up on Friday and will have to resume early Saturday. Right now there are 33 players at six-under par of better, some of those six-under have four or five holes to play so that number could possibly move back to five-under. Jamie Donaldson got it to 12-under par with three holes to play. He’ll be the medalist after 36 if he can stay at that number. Doesn’t matter that much, once they complete the second round early Saturday, they’ll reset and the remaining 32 and tie start over at even par.
Courses Shut Down In England:
COVID-19 is once again the huge topic in Europe and England’s shutting down, including golf courses.
The golf lobby tried its best to keep the courses open CEO Jeremy Tomlinson from the All-Party Parliamentary Group For Golf, made a written appeal to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday and asked Johnson to reconsider his decision in closing courses.
“We appreciate that there are often misconceptions about who golf is accessible to, but the reality is that there are over three million people who regularly play the game in Great Britain spanning all abilities, age groups, backgrounds, gender, and faiths,” the letter read. “It also provides welcome access to green spaces for many people who aren’t able to access them elsewhere and has proven health benefits. Leaders in public health recognize the benefits it can offer in not just tackling physical inactivity, but also its contribution to the prevention of a range of non-communicable diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes as well as certain cancers.
Alas, the appeal didn’t work and golf is shut down.
