On October 12th, Beijing time, the European Tour UK Masters, hosted by Justin Ross, kicked off on Thursday at the windy Walton Heath Golf Club. Despite playing until dark, 11 players were still unable to complete the first round as scheduled. Currently, Tommy Fleetwood, a hero of the European team in the Ryder Cup, has scored 67 strokes (-5), temporarily leading the team's tie. For the second consecutive year, Chinese top player Li Haotong has tied for 60th place with a score of 73 strokes (1).
Fleetwood, ranked 11th in the world, received 6 birdies, swallowed 1 bogey, and tied for first place with two English compatriots who also pitched 67, this year's European Tour treble winners Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell, by one stroke. Among them, Pepperell made his first one shot in his career on the 9th hole using the 5th iron from 172 yards away.
"From my position at the time, that one hole in was an incredible shot. I played very poorly in professional amateur matches on Wednesday, perhaps the worst I've played in a while. I can't say I played great today, but... it's great to be able to top the charts with Matt and Tommy," said Pep Perel, who won his first European Tour championship at the Qatar Masters in February this year
Last season's Dubai Championship winner Fleetwood also shone brightly, scoring 6 strokes better than his teammate in the Ryder Cup, Francisco Molinari. "Today was a great round of golf," said Flightwood after the game. "From a hitting perspective, I played great. I played a lot of shots on the fairway, especially when there were strong crosswinds, it was not easy to hit the fairway."
Another parallel leader, Wallace, is now focused on his goal of winning his fourth European Tour title this season after missing out on a wild card in the Ryder Cup. "It's wonderful to have my 50th European tour at the UK Masters. The first round was a wonderful start, and I made some mistakes. I ended the last hole with a bogey, which wasn't very good, but we will solve some problems on the practice field. I hope we can continue to move forward on Friday."
French player Alexander Levy still has one hole left to play and has a chance to squeeze into the tied leading position in the first round of play offs. Now, he is tied for fourth place with a score of -4, along with four other players who have hit 68 strokes (-4).
Li Haotong, ranked 54th in the world, received 2 birdies, swallowed 3 bogies, and hit 73 strokes (1), tying with Italian stars Molinari and others in 60th place. However, the English host Ross only tied for 79th place with a score of 74 strokes (2).