August 13-16
The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
โฌ1,000,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4
New father Thomas Pieters marked his return to European Tour action in style with an opening seven-under-par 64 in the Celtic Classic.
Pieters was one over par after five holes of his first round at Celtic Manor, but he played the remaining 13 in eight under and stormed home in just 29 shots to hold a one-shot lead over England's Toby Tree and Australian Jake McLeod.
"It was pretty good," Pieters said with considerable understatement. "I putted well, just kept my ball in play and didn't get myself in any trouble really."
😫 Downhill lie
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 13, 2020
😑 In the rough
😨 Green running away
No problem for @Thomas_Pieters.#CelticClassic #GolfForGood pic.twitter.com/ul3Q466lVl
Pieters had not played competitively since early March due to the coronavirus lockdown, during which time his girlfriend gave birth to their first child, Florence.
"It's been fantastic," former Ryder Cup player Pieters added. "I miss my little baby girl, but I'm thankful I can play golf right now; first time back in five months it feels nice to get out there and put a score down."
The lockdown has also resulted in Pieters sporting the kind of long hair more often associated with Tommy Fleetwood and he added: "My mum said the same, my girlfriend says the same.
"I've just been really lazy and I don't feel like sitting in a hairdresser for like two hours with a mask on. If someone wants to cut it, go ahead!"
Italy's Edoardo Molinari and Scotland's Marc Warren were part of a seven-way tie for fourth on five under, with Hero Open winner Sam Horsfield and Nicolas Colsaerts among a large group on four under.
10 years on. @DodoMolinari returns.#CelticClassic #GolfForGood pic.twitter.com/jTnhhSE084
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 13, 2020
Molinari, who has twice finished fourth in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor and was part of Europe's winning Ryder Cup side here in 2010, said: "It's always nice coming back here, obviously I have great memories. But it's a golf course that definitely suits my eye.
"I've had a good few finishes in the past, so it's good memories from the Ryder Cup and other tournaments."
The day's action was partly overshadowed by the news that France's Alex Levy has become the first European Tour player to test positive for Covid-19 following his withdrawal from the event.
Levy initially tested negative after informing tournament officials that a friend he had met at home in France over the weekend had tested positive for the virus, but he was re-tested and returned a positive result.
The 30-year-old must now self-isolate for 14 days and fellow player Romain Wattel was also withdrawn from the event after being identified as one of Levy's contacts at Celtic Manor.
Wattel and Levy's caddie Tom Ayling have returned negative tests.
Statement on Alex Levy and Romain Wattel.
โ The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 13, 2020
Pos. |
Player | To Par |
R1 |
1 |
Thomas Pieters | -7 |
64 |
T2 |
Toby Tree | -6 |
65 |
T2 |
Jake McLeod | -6 |
65 |
T4 |
Marc Warren | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Adrian Meronk | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Guido Migliozzi | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Sebastian Soderberg | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Edoardo Molinari | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Ignacio Elvira Mijares | -5 |
66 |
T4 |
Sihwan Kim | -5 |
66 |
T11 |
James Morrison | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Dave Coupland | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Wil Besseling | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Nicolas Colsaerts | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Aaron Rai | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Thomas Detry | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Steven Brown | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Lorenzo Gagli | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Sam Horsfield | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Matthew Southgate | -4 |
67 |
T11 |
Andrew Johnston | -4 |
67 |
T22 |
Jordan Smith | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Sean Crocker | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Connor Syme | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Callum Shinkwin | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Jonathan Caldwell | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
John Catlin | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Maverick Antcliff | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Matthew Jordan | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
David Horsey | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Martin Simonsen | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Joel Sjoholm | -3 |
68 |
T22 |
Ben Stow | -3 |
68 |
T34 |
Emilio Cuartero Blanco | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Francesco Laporta | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Oscar Lengden | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Rhys Enoch | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Anton Karlsson | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Adrian Otaegui | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Justin Harding | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Richie Ramsay | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Sebastian Heisele | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Scott Vincent | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Jack Senior | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Maximilian Kieffer | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Jason Scrivener | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Zander Lombard | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Min Woo Lee | -2 |
69 |
T34 |
Ryan Fox | -2 |
69 |
T50 |
Wilco Nienaber | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Carlos Pigem | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Justin Walters | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Nicolai Højgaard | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Bryce Easton | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Aaron Cockerill | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Jbe Kruger | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Andy Sullivan | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Masahiro Kawamura | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Jens Fahrbring | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Oliver Fisher | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Calum Hill | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Damien Perrier | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Gavin Kyle Green | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Kurt Kitayama | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Jamie Donaldson | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Pablo Larrazabal | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Alvaro Quiros | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Jacques Kruyswijk | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Søren Kjeldsen | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Nicolai Von Dellingshausen | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Robin Roussel | -1 |
70 |
T50 |
Ross McGowan | -1 |
70 |
56 |
Romain Wattel | E |
|
T73 |
Alexander Björk | E |
71 |
T73 |
Michael Campbell | E |
71 |
T73 |
Bernd Ritthammer | E |
71 |
T73 |
Thorbjørn Olesen | E |
71 |
T73 |
Kristoffer Reitan | E |
71 |
T73 |
Brandon Stone | E |
71 |
T73 |
Shubhankar Sharma | E |
71 |
T73 |
Cormac Sharvin | E |
71 |
T73 |
Lorenzo Scalise | E |
71 |
T73 |
Mathieu Fenasse (a) | E |
71 |
T73 |
Scott Jamieson | E |
71 |
T73 |
Louis De Jager | E |
71 |
T73 |
Nino Bertasio | E |
71 |
T73 |
Lee Slattery | E |
71 |
T73 |
Dean Burmester | E |
71 |
T73 |
Sami Välimäki | E |
71 |
T89 |
Joost Luiten | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Ross Fisher | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Chris Paisley | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Julian Suri | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Marcel Schneider | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Johannes Veerman | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Ashley Chesters | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Jorge Campillo | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Clement Sordet | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Grant Forrest | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Eduardo De la Riva | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Antoine Rozner | 1 |
72 |
T89 |
Dale Whitnell | 1 |
72 |
T102 |
Haydn Porteous | 2 |
73 |
T102 |
Oliver Farr | 2 |
73 |
T102 |
Adri Arnaus | 2 |
73 |
T102 |
Matthew Baldwin | 2 |
73 |
T102 |
Rikard Karlberg | 2 |
73 |
T102 |
Stephen Gallacher | 2 |
73 |
T108 |
Niklas Lemke | 3 |
74 |
T108 |
Renato Paratore | 3 |
74 |
T108 |
Laurie Canter | 3 |
74 |
T108 |
Benjamin Poke | 3 |
74 |
T108 |
Gavin Moynihan | 3 |
74 |
T113 |
Richard Bland | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Lars van Meijel | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
JC Ritchie | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Marcus Armitage | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Garrick Porteous | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Stephen Dodd | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Steven Tiley | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Andrew Palmer | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Paul McGinley | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Scott Hend | 4 |
75 |
T113 |
Darius van Driel | 4 |
75 |
125 |
Ben Evans | 5 |
76 |
T126 |
Liam Johnston | 6 |
77 |
T126 |
Oliver Wilson | 6 |
77 |
T128 |
Alejandro Cañizares | 7 |
78 |
T128 |
Lucas Bjerregaard | 7 |
78 |
T130 |
Andrea Pavan | 8 |
79 |
T130 |
Zach Murray | 8 |
79 |
132 |
David Howell | 9 |
80 |