Emilio Cuartero Blanco and Craig Ross share the first round lead at the Euram Bank Open after posting five under par rounds of 65 at Golf Club Adamstal Franz Wittmann.
The Spaniard carded a red-hot front nine of 29, which included four birdies and an eagle before adding one more birdie on his back nine to set the target at five under, while Scotsman Ross carded five birdies in a bogey-free round to join the top of the leaderboard.
The leading duo are closely followed by Sweden’s Albin Tiden, Dutchman Robbie van West, Austrian Felix Schulz, American Dan Erickson, Englishman Max Orrin and New Zealand’s Josh Geary, who share third place on four under par.
Cuartero Blanco was delighted with his fast start in Ramsau and admits the Euram Bank Open is one of the tournaments he eagerly anticipates on the Road to Mallorca.
“I’m very happy with five under par today,” he said. “Any score under par round this course is good. I had a good start on the front nine and made a 29 which was great.
“I hit some great shots and holed important putts. On the back nine I missed a couple of greens left and my putts weren’t dropping. I showed both sides of my game today and it was a real battle.
“This is a special tournament and I look out for it at the beginning of the year because I love the set up. I take good care of my body and hopefully that will prove vital by the end of the week because this course is certainly tough on the legs.”
Co-leader Ross experienced a slow start to his round before igniting into life on the back nine – as three birdies in his final four holes set him on the path to the top of the leaderboard.
“I played really solid today,” he said. “I tried to remain patient and luckily a couple of putts dropped towards the end of my round.
“The course was firm today and there wasn’t much spin on the greens. You had to watch the bounce, especially on the downhill holes. It was a good test.
“This is probably the hilliest course I will ever play and it was very hot today which made it even more difficult. The wind started swirling in the trees and I had to make sure I kept concentration to pick the right club.”
12 players share ninth place on three under par, including Italian Lorenzo Scalise and Spaniards Eduard Rousaud and Manuel Elvira.
The second round of the Euram Bank Open will begin at 7:30am local time, with Cuartero Blanco and Ross teeing it up alongside Freddy Schott at 8:00am.
