Nick Dougherty laid down an early marker on his Challenge Tour debut, and return to action after a torrid season in 2011, with a superb one under par 71 which left him tied for the clubhouse lead midway through the first round of the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Classic.
In strong winds, the three-time European Tour winner carded four birdies in his first competitive round of 2012 as he joined compatriot Philip Archer at the top.
Dougherty’s career has been a struggle of late, making just one cut in 34 events on The European Tour last year, but the 28 year old had a spring in step after his first day on the Challenge Tour and believes that the change in scenery has rejuvenated him.
“My manager Chubby (Chandler) said to me this week that it’s basically like I’m starting my career all over again and it does feel like that,” said Dougherty, “I’m basically starting from scratch because of how it’s all gone in recent years so it’s exciting and I really enjoyed it today.
“I played great out there, I’m really happy with how it went. Obviously I wasn’t expecting an easy time on my return but I certainly wasn’t expecting what I had out there! It’s really tough with the wind but you just have to hang in there and be patient and I think I did that really well today.”
After a longer winter break than usual, Dougherty has felt that his game has been coming together recently as he attempts to rebuild his confidence.
“I had played a few rounds with (his wife) Di in the past week and I feel like it’s just been coming together a bit,” he said.
“I’ve played quite well and my game is starting to come back so I came out with a little bit of confidence because of that. I have the experience too which I think will help this week in conditions like that, I have experience of winning big tournaments so hopefully that will stand to me.
“I also have the experience of not letting little things get to be. I’m going out there with minus expectations really after last year so I won’t be letting any little mistakes get to me.”
Archer, meanwhile, also showed his experience as he dropped shots on just two holes, a double-bogey on the fifth and a bogey on the 15th, while also carding four birdies.
“It’s just keeping the ball in play really and not trying to take stupid things on and it’s about keeping the spin from the ball so I think I did that quite well,” said the two-time Challenge Tour winner.
“Without a doubt, experience is important. I had a chip and run from about 150 yards on the 10th today, I think it stayed on the ground about 90 per cent of the time, but I made my par so that experience does come into play to keep control.
“You can quite easily let the head go out there but I was just trying to make pars and birdies were a bonus. I knocked it quite close, which helps but you just have to keep it on the fairways and try and get up and down for pars and I did that a lot too.”
The 39 year old’s last win on the Challenge Tour, at the ALLIANZ Open Cotes d'Armor Bretagne last year, came in horrendous conditions which saw him take victory with a six over par final round, so the strong winds at Country Club de Barranquilla didn’t faze him one bit.
“The last day in Brittany was very much the same principle, people were dropping shots for fun and you had to hold on and that was the case today,” he said.
“I know how to play windy conditions, I’ve played a lot in conditions like this so it bodes well for the next three days but it can quite easily get away from you with one slight error so I have to try stay patient and that’s the plan of attack for the next three days.”
