Copenhagen, Aug 15: India’s Shubhankar Sharma played a round of even par 71 on the opening day of the Danish Golf Championship and was placed tied 70th at the Par-71 Furesø Golf Klub here.
Having failed to make the cut since the Hero Indian Open held earlier this year in March, Shubhankar would be keen to avoid an early end to his week.
Veer Ahlawat shot 2-over 73 and was in danger of missing the cut as he was struggling at tied 113th.
After starting the round on the back nine with a bogey, Sharma birdied the 12th, 16th and 18th holes. A bogey on the 14th meant he would enter the front nine with a score of one under par. A birdie on the sixth and bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes, his closing holes. resulted in a final score of even par.
Englishman Marco Penge played a bogey free round of 7-under 64 to set a new course record and place himself as the sole leader by two strokes at the end of the first day.
Penge made birdies on the third, sixth, 11th, 13th, and 14th holes. He closed his round with an eagle on the 18th.
The Englishman has made six top 30 finishes in seven starts to catapult himself to the fifth spot in the Race to Dubai rankings.
Penge leads by two strokes from five players, with former Danish Golf Championship winner Rasmus Højgaard in close pursuit after carding eight birdies in his five under par round of 66.
Højgaard is joined in a share of second by 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari, Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Jeremy Paul of Germany and Scotsman Marc Warren.
Last year’s runner-up Lucas Bjerregaard sits in a share of seventh alongside six others.
Nicolai Højgaard had a round to remember as he spectacularly holed out for eagle twice in the space of three holes.
Playing in the group ahead of twin brother Rasmus, Nicolai was two over par through ten holes before he holed out from 111 yards on the par four 12th.
Two holes later at the 14th, he made his second eagle of the day, this time holing out from 144 yards. He then birdied the last to sign for a three under par 68 and a share of 14th place. (PTI)
