Jannik De Bruyn opened with a 9-under 64 in spite of back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th to take a four-shot lead at the European Open.
De Bruyn is playing in his rookie season on the DP World Tour after coming through Qualifying School.
“I can’t explain what happened out there,” said the German player. “But I was just in the moment and the birdies kept coming. I was hitting the ball well in the right areas and my putting was great.
“I was six under through seven and didn’t really believe it. I hadn’t been playing great coming into the week, so I had no expectation. I was just looking to take it shot by shot and focus on hitting draws. It worked out well for me today.
“There were plenty of spectators out there for me today and I always enjoy playing in front of my home crowd. The more birdies I was making, the bigger the crowd got which was quite funny. I’m proud to play such a good round here.”
Wales’ Jack Davidson and England’s Laurie Canter are tied in second place at 5-under.
There was a three-hour fog delay in the morning and 34 players will be returning to complete their first rounds on Friday morning after darkness saw play suspended at 9.22pm.
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