May 30 - June 02
Rinkven International Golf Club, Antwerp, Belgium
€1,000,000
Live leaderboard
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

Anton Karlsson produced a stunning round of 63 on day one to put himself in pole position to claim the top seeding at the Belgian Knockout.

"It was a great round of golf. I've been playing some good golf lately, not getting any scores together is what it's been feeling like but today it came together as a whole."

The top 32 from each side of the draw after 36 holes at Rinkven International Golf Club will make it through to the knockout stages and Karlsson's eight under total was the best of any player in the field by two shots.

The 64 players that advance from the first two days will be seeded based on their score regardless of which side of the draw they were in, and will then go head to head over six rounds of nine hole knockout stroke play to determine a winner.

Swede Karlsson has had two top tens since regaining his playing privileges at the 2018 Qualifying School to sit 111th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex, but found his form in spectacular style in Antwerp.

"It's been tough to say, one week it's too many putts, another week too few fairways but all in all, pretty good. I struggled a little off the tee which you're not supposed to do around this place but I went on and holed a few.

"My best day in a long while with the putter. It was tough for a while to actually miss a putt. During the back nine I kept rolling them in from wherever, really, which is always a nice feeling."

Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño was the closest challenger in that side of the draw at six under, with Dean Burmester and Chris Paisley also signing for 65 earlier on in the day. They sit a shot clear of Italian Lorenzo Gagli, England's David Horsey, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, Norway's Espen Kofstad, and South African duo Justin Walters and JC Ritchie.

"I'm feeling great," said Fernandez-Castaño. "I've hit the ball really well today, I've manged to keep the ball in play most of the time. Having all these tree lined courses it's always about getting the ball in position and I think I did that very well."

Local favourite Thomas Detry delighted the bumper home crowds with an opening 67 to sit in an excellent position heading into the second round. The 26-year-old was eliminated in the round of 64 last year and will be looking to go better than that in a 2019 season where he has made every cut barring the Volvo China Open, where he had to withdraw with a neck injury.

“I'm very happy. It wasn't that easy out there, a bit breezy and cold this morning as well, but very happy with how I played out there. I got some good vibes, I played great here last year, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

“I hit a lot of irons off the tee. It's an easy golf course but it can be tricky as well. I was just being very safe off the tee and leaving myself a lot of short irons in, but sometimes you have to take it on, and I have been hitting my driver great, so the few holes where you actually have to hit it, I have been hitting it well. Other than that, I have been giving myself a lot of birdie chances with the short irons."