November 05-08
Aphrodite Hills Resort, Kouklia, Paphos, Cyprus
€1,000,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

Robert MacIntyre started the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown as he ended last week's Cyprus Open, with a six under par 65 to take the lead after the first round at Aphrodite Hills Resort.

“I'm delighted. Again I played great golf. A few mis hits 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 24-year-old improved by one stroke each round in last week's Cyprus Open, carding scores of 68-67-66-65 for a share of third place and his best finish on the 2020 Race to Dubai.

The Scotsman continued that momentum into the second of two consecutive events at the stunning Paphos venue and was one of eight players in a share of the lead on five under par, before his sixth birdie of the day on the 18th saw him take a narrow lead into the second round.

“The course suits my eye. I said it to Mikey and my coach at the start of last week. 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. At Wentworth we weren't hitting numbers and before that the lofts kept going stronger and we were struggling. Now we've got new irons everything is perfect and my golf is showing that there was something wrong. To have fixed that has been a big help.”

Sharing second place are seven golfers on five under par, including Romain Langasque, of France, and Finland's Sami Välimäki - both winners on the 2020 Race to Dubai - and 2014 Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson.

“A bit of a funny start really," said Donaldson. "I hit a great tee shot on the first, hit a really good second shot it was just short and it spun down the hill. I hit a poor second putt to three-putt the first which wasn't a great start after two good shots. It was a bit of a slow start. On the second I pushed my approach, didn't hit it close and was struggling for par – I made a good par.

“Then after that I got going. I played some really nice golf after that on the front nine. Three-putt bogeyed nine, which was a shame after two good shots, misjudged a putt, which was a shame. Over the course of the front nine it was pretty good, had lots of chances and made a few of them.”

One group remained on the course when play was halted due to darkness, with Round One to be completed on Friday morning. 

This week's Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown has a first-of-its-kind format on the European Tour, with the top 32 players and ties making the cut for Saturday's third round. All scores will then be reset, and the top 16 and ties after the third round will go through to Sunday, with everyone starting again from level par in a one-round shootout with the winner receiving a cheque for €200,000.