Once the Paduan clouds had emptied themselves of rain and Golf della Montecchia had dried out, Italian eyes will have enjoyed seeing one of their own, Andrea Pavan, make a significant early move at the Montecchia Open by Lyoness.
Having lost a whole day’s play to bad weather yesterday, the tournament has been reduced to 54 holes which lent even more significance to Pavan’s rapid start.
Pavan, a serial winner on the Challenge Tour and former Rankings Number One, finished in a tie for seventh at last week’s Turkish Airlines Challenge, and he was pleased to keep that good form going in Padova as a bogey-free first round of 64 put him on seven under par, one shot behind morning leader Gary Hurley.
“It’s always nice to do well on home soil,” said the 27 year old. “There’s that little bit of extra pressure, wanting to do well in front of home fans.
“With all these delays, not playing much on Wednesday, you never know what to expect, especially with the breeze being totally opposite to the practice rounds.
“I’ve played here a couple of times, it’s not like I know this course, but I got off to a good start, putted well today, played pretty well too.
“The greens are pretty flat so you can definitely make some putts out here if you catch the good lines but they can be a bit tricky because the slopes are very subtle.
“The course is soft but it was in good condition. Yesterday I walked a couple of holes, the first and the 18th, and it was very wet. Today was good, it was fair, and overall I’m pleased with the start.
“Knowing it’s a 54 hole tournament now, you really want to get off to a good start because you don’t have the time to catch up, you can’t afford to just keep it close.”
Pavan has fine Challenge Tour pedigree to draw on, having won four times – including in his homeland at the 2011 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final – and having topped the Rankings in 2013.
Sadly, despite twice graduating to the European Tour, the Rome native has struggled to retain that level of form on the biggest stages and, though targeting a return by finishing in the top 15 in the Road to Oman Rankings, he acknowledges that the standard on the Challenge Tour is higher than ever.
“I might seem comfortable from how I’ve done before, but the standard here is getting better,” he said. “There are many great young guys coming through and turning pro, so it’s not like when you come back it’s easier, you still have to play well.
“In the past years when I was on Challenge Tour I didn’t really realise how well I was playing at times and when I was struggling on the European Tour I wasn’t really drawing back on those good experiences. Hopefully this time I can just cherish it a bit more.
“I’ve changed as a player – I have tried to get better and adjust to what part of my game is missing for me to stay on the European Tour. I had a good winter and practiced well so I’m trying to keep it going now the season has begun.”
