Chris Wood’s good form continued at the Lyoness Open Powered by Greenfinity as the Englishman claimed a share of the clubhouse lead midway through the opening round at Diamond Country Club.
Wood, who won a BMW i8 for a hole-in-one en route to a fourth-place finish at the recent BMW PGA Championship, carded a five under par 67 in near-perfect conditions to join compatriot Robert Dinwiddie and Spain’s Carlos Del Moral in a share of the lead.
Wood had six birdies and a single bogey in his round, and is now focussing on a successful week.
“It was a solid score,” said Wood, whose only European Tour victory to date came in Qatar two years ago.
“The conditions were perfect this morning but I have to say that after the conditions we have been playing in for the last three weeks it is great to come somewhere hot and where you can shoot a few under if you play well.
“I gave myself lots of chances today so it was an enjoyable day out there – I am looking forward to the rest of the week now.”
Del Moral and Dinwiddie have both fluctuated between The European Tour and Challenge Tour in recent seasons, and the pair currently lie well outside the top 110 on The Race to Dubai who will keep their cards.
Del Moral had six birdies and a single bogey, and missed a five foot birdie putt at the 18th for the outright lead, while Dinwiddie eagled the long first in a round containing four birdies and a solitary dropped shot.
“I understood the course a little bit better this time around and 67 is a great score,” said Del Moral.
“I played very well today and putted well too so it was great start to the week for me. I have made a few changes with a new coach and new equipment this year and it is starting to have a positive effect – there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel!”
Dinwiddie is playing this season on a medical exemption after missing much of 2014 through injury, and was pleased to post his best European Tour score for two years a week after making his first cut of 2015 in Sweden.
“That was very satisfying,” he said. “I got off to a good start and managed to stay positive and make a few more birdies coming in so it was a great day. I am slowly making my way back from the injury but it has been a long time.
“I ruptured a disk in my lower back in April last year which then affected the nerve all the way down my leg. The doctors recommended I take some time out and thankfully I didn’t need an operation but it wasn’t until November that I was able to hit balls again so it was a long break but looking back on it I probably needed a break from the game.
“It feels much better now than it has for about five years so it’s all positive apart from all the boring stretching I have to do – I spend about half the night on my hotel room floor trying to get the back in good shape! But that is what I need to do to be able to play so I need to accept that and be grateful for what I have. It’s all worth it when you shoot scores like I did today and hopefully I can keep it going for the rest of the week.”
French pair Gary Stal and Cyril Bouniol were one behind in the clubhouse along with Swede Johan Edfors, while defending champion Mikael Lundberg opened with a level par 72.
