Two players with a lot to gain at the M2M Russian Challenge Cup led the way midway through the opening day as Magnus A Carlsson and Morten Orum Madsen both carded four under par rounds of 68 to take the tied clubhouse lead.
Carlsson currently sits in second place in the European Challenge Tour Rankings and would overtake leader Gary Lockerbie with a win at Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club, while Madsen is in 27th in the Rankings and needs some good results before the end of the season to be in with a chance of gaining a European Tour card for 2013.
Carlsson had a mixed day with six birdies offset by two bogeys but he was happy with his game, especially from the tee, as he hopes to once again hit good form for one of the Challenge Tour ‘Majors’ in Kazakhstan next week.
“I've been hitting good tee shots for quite a while now and I think that’s pretty important on this course,” said the Swede, whose high Rankings position is largely down to good results at the Madeira Islands Open and St Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC. “The rough is thick in places and if you hit the fairway you can attack the pins more so that was one of the keys for me today.
“I made birdies at the 10th and 12th, which aren’t obvious birdie holes and two on the par fives, so it was a mixture of the hard ones and easy ones. I guess I could have made a few more but I’m pretty happy with four under today.”
Madsen had come in before Carlsson and stormed to the top late on in his round thanks to three birdies in a row from the 15th hole, having birdied the fifth and eighth holes before dropping a shot at the par three 13th.
After returning to form in his home tournament, the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn & Mercedes-Benz, last month following a poor run, Madsen believes his game is showing signs of returning to the form which brought him a runner up place at the second tournament of the season in Colombia.
“I had a really good finish so that was really nice,” said the 24 year old Dane. “I played really solid all day so it was nice to get some birdies out of it in the end. I wouldn’t say I was flagging all day today but I was striking the ball really well and I think I only missed two greens.
“I just needed to stay patient. I wasn’t taking advantage of all the chances but it was nice to be rewarded for my patience late in the round. I’m really happy to be playing solid golf again because it’s been a while.
“The course is tough. If you’re hitting the greens it’s tough to get up and down. The fairways are wide but it’s tough if you miss the fairway or the green.”
There were five players a shot back on three under par with Eddie Pepperell, a winner on the tour this year, and in-form Dane Joachim B Hansen amongst them.
