Thorbjørn Olesen bounced back from an early double bogey to post a six under par round of 66 and share the first round lead at the Amgen Irish Open.
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The Dane is joined at the top of the leaderboard by Spain’s Nacho Elvira and Frenchman Romain Langasque, with Englishman Dan Brown, South Africa’s Zander Lombard, Frenchman Adrien Saddier and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger one shot back on five under par at the K Club.
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Eight-time DP World Tour winner Olesen hit his tee shot in the water and dropped two shots at the par three third but wasted no time in restoring parity as he birdied the next two and then picked up another shot at the ninth to make the turn in the red.
That birdie at the ninth was one of three in a row as he started to ascend the leaderboard, with another arriving after a chip-in on the par three 14th.
The putter again stayed in the bag at the par four 17th as he chipped in from 16 yards, before adding an eighth birdie of the day by two-putting from 51 feet at the par five 18th to share the advantage at six under.
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Spain’s Elvira set the target earlier in the day, carding an impressive bogey-free 66. The 38-year-old, beginning at the tenth, had a steady start as he made the turn one under, before sparking into life on the first hole – his tenth.
He birdied the par four first hole, then reeled off a trio of birdies from the fourth before converting a five-footer on the par three eighth for a sixth and final birdie as he set the pace in the morning wave. Frenchman Langasque then made it a trio at the top as the light faded in County Kildare.
Play was suspended at 8:10pm local time due to darkness, with one group on either side still to finish, including South African Lombard in a tie for fourth.
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The Birdies for Wishes campaign got off to a strong start on day one at the K Club, with 81 birdies and five eagles on the 18th hole earning a donation of €25,800 from Amgen and the DP World Tour combined. The three Amgen ambassadors – Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington and Séamus Power – carded nine birdies between them, raising an extra €4,500 for Make a Wish Ireland.
Player quotes
Thorbjørn Olesen: I had some really good breaks out there. I holed two chip shots on the back nine, holed a couple of good putts. I didn’t feel like my game was that great actually, but around the turn it definitely got better and I hit some good shots coming in.
I hit a full duffed five iron straight in the water. Like I said, I didn’t feel that good on the front nine and then it turned a little bit on the back. I had my luck with me today, which is nice.
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Nacho Elvira: I hit the ball pretty decent; like I said, probably the best that I’ve played in the last two, three months I would say.
I putted really well and I tried not to put myself in dangerous situations. I was in play off the tee pretty much all day. Then the greens are soft; very difficult to control the spin. But they are very receptive, so I took advantage and I made a lot of putts.
