Made in HimmerLand - Day one digest

Everything you need to know from day one in Farsø.

Ross McGowan stole the headlines with a brilliant finish to his opening round at the 2022 Made in HimmerLand - posting an eagle at his second last and a birdie on his final hole.

His nine-under 62 was one shot better than five players - including two Danish stars - at the top of a bunched-up leaderboard.

Here is everything you need to know from day one in Farsø.

Great Danes

The locals were served up a real treat during round one with a host of home players charging up the leaderboard. Some of the loudest cheers were saved for veteran Søren Kjeldsen, making his 656th Tour start and rolling back the years. The 47-year-old four-time winner posted five birdies and an eagle at the eighth.

Two home hopes must have thought they were heading for dinner on the back of tournament-leading rounds before McGowan stole the limelight. But Rasmus Højgaard and Marcus Helligkilde had plenty of fun on familiar ground. Højgaard said: "It’s amazing out there, you’re getting clapped every time you go on the green. I was smiling all day, I just enjoyed it." Echoing his compatriot, Helligkilde said: "It’s unbelievable, I would say 90% of the people on the course today, I know them. I’m not a superstar like the (Højgaard) twins just yet, so it’s very nice to have people come out and cheer me on, I love it."

Flying Scotsman

It’s amazing what a bit of confidence can do for a player and Ewen Ferguson played it cool after holing out from 140 yards for eagle at the first – his tenth – on his way to a superb 63. He said: “I had an in-between yardage and, because I was playing quite well, I thought I would just hammer a wedge straight at it. It went straight in, so it was pretty good.” Ferguson is well placed heading into round two as he chases a third win of the season.

Walters bouncing back

Justin Walters held a share of the lead for most of the day and said after his 63: “It was a bit of a surprise to be honest, I took a month off up to this point and to be honest I have been struggling with some personal stuff at home. I just needed some time to reset, I felt I run myself down a little bit and I needed time with the family. I didn’t play a lot of golf, I took a lot of time off and did the bare minimum, I worked more on my mind and my approach coming into this week. My team, my coach and my physio and sports psychologist all just sat down and drew up a plan. To be honest it was really solid today so I’m really happy.”