Alessandro Tadini says he feels he is close to a European Challenge Tour victory after he took the early clubhouse lead in the opening round of the ECCO Tour Championship presented by Thomas Björn and Mercedes Benz.
The Italian shot a six under par 66 just before play was suspended at Lübker Golf Resort at 1:40pm local time due to lightning.
He has been a consistent performer on the Challenge Tour this year, missing just two cuts and earning five top-20 finishes in 13 appearances and he was feeling confident after his bogey-free first round.
“I think I am close (to a victory), but many times I had three good rounds and that other round has let me down so I need to make sure I play consistently this week,” said Tadini, who already has three Challenge Tour victories to his name, the latest of which came at last year’s Credit Suisse Challenge.
“Scandinavia has been good to me this year, I was leading after the first round at The Princess by Schüco in Sweden but I ended up having a couple of bad rounds so I want to ensure that doesn't happen this week.”
There was not a single blemish on the 37 year old’s card as he shot 33 on the front and back nines thanks to birdies on the third, sixth, ninth , 10th, 12thand 14th holes and he has pinpointed his showing on the greens as the most important factor of his stunning opening round.
“My putting was the big difference today,” said Tadini. “Normally when I play like that I might hit about three or four under but I only took about 26 or 27 putts out there today and that’s what made the difference.”
Frenchman Charles-Eduoard Russo was the next best in the clubhouse with a two under par round of 70, while Jacob Roth was the leading Danish player in the clubhouse early on with a one over par 73.
