Volvo China Open - Day one digest

Everything you need to know from the first round in Shenzhen.

Romain Langasque and Sebastian Söderberg led the way thanks to birdie bursts, practice made perfect for Alexander Levy and Zander Lombard cursed his luck on day one of the 2024 Volvo China Open.

Here is everything you need to know from day one at Hidden Grace Golf Club.

Langasque's birdie blitz

The Frenchman put in a brilliant display in Shenzhen with a flawless 63 to share the first-round lead alongside Swede Söderberg at nine under par. Starting on the back nine, he picked up his first shot at the 11th before a mammoth run of seven straight birdies from the 16th. A par at the fifth ended the seven-hole stretch of gains, but he picked up another shot at the sixth from ten feet to become the first player at nine under and set the clubhouse target, which was later matched by Söderberg. He said: "The last time I played here I finished in fifth place. I like this course and I like the way you have to plot your way round. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t believe that I could shoot nine under par today so I’m delighted. It gives me confidence that I have played well on this golf course in the past and I felt comfortable out there today. I didn’t try too hard today and that approach paid off. My iron game was good today and I gave myself so many birdie opportunities and the putter was working nicely too. The course is in fantastic condition given the rain that we have had. There was a bit of wind this morning but other than that I think we had perfect conditions out there today."

Söderberg eyes Major spot after strong first round

Söderberg was a picture of consistency with his irons on day one in Shenzhen as he rolled in nine birdies to join Frenchman Langasque at the top of the leaderboard following his spotless first round. The 33-year-old currently leads the Asian Swing Rankings, which concludes here at Hidden Grace Golf Club, and the winner will gain £200,000 in prize money, exemption for the Back 9 events of the DP World Tour campaign and the top three will gain a spot at the US PGA Championship. The Swede has made just two Major appearances in his career at the 2016 and 2022 U.S. Open Championships and is edging closer to earning his place at Valhalla Golf Club later this month. He said: "I guess it would be really nice. It is the first Swing I have been involved in and I'm not really that focused on putting tournaments together like that usually. But obviously it means spots into a Major, then you are paying extra attention to stuff like that. I have to take every shot for what it is and not get ahead of myself. Oh yeah for sure I do (think about the US PGA Championship). Once you are on the course you block that away and take it one shot at a time. But off the course, it's looking quite good right now but at the same time, I don't want to think about it too much. It can be tricky depending where you are."

Wo-cheng Ye inches from an ace

The 23-year-old came close to delighting the home crowd with a brilliant ace at the 172-yard eighth. His tee-shot did not even land on the green, but it had enough momentum to roll down the slope of the greenside rough before arcing towards the cup. It looked as though the ball only had one destination, however it narrowly slipped by.

Lombard lambasts his luck

Lombard moved into contention following his blemish-free 66 to sit three adrift of the leading duo. However, it could have been even better had luck been on the South African's side at the 14th hole. How has he not had an eagle here?!

Practice makes perfect

Levy showed that consistency is key when it comes to pre-shot routines. The Frenchman, who won this event in 2014 and 2017, uses a common technique before addressing each shot...