Frenchman Julien Guerrier produced a sparkling display on the opening day of the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final to stake his claim for one of the 20 golden tickets on offer.
Guerrier, in need of a big week at this week’s €330,000 season-ending event to try to bolster his current Rankings position of 37th, reeled off four birdies and an eagle to set the early place on five under par at the stunning San Domenico Golf, in the Puglia region of Italy.
The highlight of the 2006 Amateur Champion’s day came at the 15th hole, where he used his driver from the fairway to devastating effect, hitting his approach to 25 feet and holing the putt for an eagle which more than compensated for his three-putt bogey on the previous hole.
A birdie on the 17th hole moved him clear of the chasing pack, with the English quartet of Jamie Elson, Andrew Johnston, Andrew Marshall and Steven Tiley and Italian Alessandro Tadini all one shot back on four under par.
Guerrier said: “Everyone’s out here to win this week and there are a lot of players who can win, but because I can only qualify with a first or second finish, it actually allows me to relax a little bit so that helped me today. I don’t really have anything to lose, so I’m just going for it.
“After the bogey on 14 I was a bit angry with myself, but I hit a good drive down 15 and it was over 250 yards to the pin so I went for the driver again from the fairway, and got to about 25 feet from the pin then holed the putt. So I was very happy with that. Other than that, I was just solid today.
“The conditions are quite good at the moment, much better than the last time I was here two years ago, when the course was playing really difficult. So I’m expecting some good scores out there this week if the weather stays the same.”
Marshall has made the cut in every Challenge Tour event in which he has teed up this season, but has so far struggled to convert promising beginnings into meaningful results.
But the Englishman will be hoping his luck turns in the final event of the campaign, where he – like Guerrier – will need to finish in the top two to make a late surge into the top 20 of the Rankings.
Marshall, currently 39th in the Rankings, felt like he was treading water until the 14th hole, where four successive birdies saw him rocket into contention.
He said: “I’m well aware I need to finish first or second on my own, so that focuses the mind a little bit. I haven’t been playing that well recently and I got off to a bit of a slow start, but I tried to stay patient because I knew I couldn’t win the tournament today – but I could lose it by shooting over par. The goal was to give myself a good chance come Saturday, and I’m on course to do that.”
Tiley, one place lower in the Rankings, is another player with designs on the title, and the 29 year old from Kent did his chances of securing a top two finish no harm at all with a flawless round of 67.
He said: “I played nicely, and I do like this course. I played well last year, so I have fond memories of the place. I have nothing to lose this week, there are so many good players out there and they’re all playing well, so it’s just a case of seeing what you can do.
“It’s a good first day, but there’s a lot of golf left out there. I did come close last year – if I’d finished well I would probably just have gotten into the top 20, so it’s a case of mastering the course over all four days this year.”
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