European Tour

BMW International Open 2018

June 21-24

Golfclub München Eichenried, Germany

€2,000,000

June 21-24

Golfclub München Eichenried, Germany

€2,000,000

Round 1

Gros takes opening lead in Germany

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

June 21, 2018

Sébastien Gros got the better of the windy conditions at Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof to take a slender one-shot lead into the second round of the BMW International Open.

- Getty Images

The high winds posed a challenge across the field on the opening day in Pulheim, but the Frenchman kept a near-perfect card - with a bogey on the 17th the only blemish - to record a four under par round of 68.

“Today was very special because the conditions were quite brutal. There was a lot of wind, sometimes a three-club wind, so it's a good start. It's just Thursday so no need to start thinking about anything, it's just a good round, and we'll try to take enough confidence out of this round to keep going for the rest of the week.``

“The putt on 12 was a key moment for today because I just never thought this ball could get in but it was like a magnet. That was a good bonus, I had a few bonuses at the start - two very long putts on the first two so the putter has been working today, I just hope it will keep me smiling all week.”

He had been two shots ahead until that dropped shot and could have ended the day in a share of the lead but for Spaniard Jorge Campillo’s bogey on the last, but Gros remains just ahead of the chasing pack of Campillo, Scotland's Scott Jamieson, Englishman Aaron Rai and Swede Henric Sturehed on three under par.

“It was a tough day,`` said Campillo, ``quite windy, the rough was high up. The greens were getting firmer and firmer with this wind. It was a great day, I played solid, I got a few good up and downs. It's not nice to finish with bogey, but still a good round.

“You have to be patient and just see where the wind is coming from. You know everyone is going to miss shots. You just need to try to keep the ball in play. It's a tough thing to do in this wind, but I think it's a fun course to play.``

Swede Christofer Blomstrand, Chilean pair Nico Geyger and Mark Tullo, England's David Howell, Frenchman Victor Perez and local favourite Nicolai von Dellingshausen are one shot further back at two under par.

It was a tough day for the marquee groups, with 2017 Masters Tournament Champion Sergio Garcia finishing on one over par, while home favourite and two-time Major winner Martin Kaymer managed to go one shot better in the same group, thanks in part to a crowd-pleasing chip-in on the third hole.

“It was a challenge but it was very fair,`` said Kaymer. ``If you hit good shots you really needed to control your spin, your trajectory of the golf shot. So it was challenging, but we are supposed to be the best players in the world, so if somebody can do it we are supposed to do it. It was playable, there were some decent scores out there.”

Reigning Race to Dubai Champion Tommy Fleetwood posted a two over par round of 74 in the company of four-time Major winner Ernie Els, who birdied the last to get to one under par.