Despite closing his first round with a bogey, former Amateur Champion Garrick Porteous joined in-form Frenchman Edouard Espana at the top of the leaderboard on seven under par in the early stages of the inaugural Azerbaijan Golf Challenge Open.
Porteous overshot the final green and failed to get up and down, but that was one of only two blemishes in an otherwise flawless display at a sunkissed National Azerbaijan Golf Club, which is the country’s first – and so far only – 18-hole golf course.
His round of 65 was matched by Espana, whilst England’s Andrew Johnston is one shot behind the leading duo after the Challenge Tour Rankings leader continued his rich vein of form with a bogey-free round of 66.
Porteous’ performance marked a dramatic return to form for the Englishman, who has missed four cuts in five appearances on the Challenge Tour so far this season.
But a fast start in Quba, where he followed up an opening birdie with an eagle at the par five second hole courtesy of a huge drive and a wedge to eight feet, saw the confidence come flooding back.
Porteous said: “It was important to get off to a fast start, and three under through two holes will do very nicely. The course is very firm so it’s a proper test out there, and I’m surprised the scoring has been so low today. But I managed to keep it in play today and if you do that, usually you only have a short iron for your second shot, so there are chances here.
“I haven’t made as good a start as I would’ve liked in my pro career, but it’s all a learning experience. I’ve just got to keep working hard and find a bit more consistency, because I’ve been playing well in patches but not managed to put four decent rounds together. Hopefully that changes this week.”
In contrast to Porteous’ mixed fortunes, Espana has enjoyed a golden spell of late, notching his second top six finish of the season on home soil last week to climb to 11th place in the Rankings.
Espana is capable of feats of low scoring – witness his opening round of 62 at last year’s Qualifying School Final Stage – and the 24 year old again sparkled in the ‘Land of Fire’, hitting all 18 greens in regulation and making eight birdies.
The Challenge Tour rookie said: “I didn’t think a 65 was possible on this course, but I played really well today. My confidence is high after some good results in recent weeks, so I tried to approach this tournament with exactly the same routine and attitude.
“I’ve played a lot of golf already this season, so I’m taking two weeks off after this tournament and I’ll spend it relaxing on the beach. It would obviously be nice to go into my holiday with another good result, so hopefully my run can continue for the rest of the week.”
Johnston is also planning to take a break next week, and if he were to sign off with his third victory of the season – and his second in successive weeks – then the next time he tees up would be on The European Tour.
With two victories and a brace of top ten finishes in his last four tournaments, the burly Englishman is undoubtedly the form horse in this week’s 156-man field, and he stated his intention to take home the lion’s share of the €300,000 prize fund with a faultless display.
He said: “I drove the ball really well today and managed to take advantage of the par fives, so that was the key to another low score. I didn’t miss anything from eight feet and in, so it was a very solid all-round performance.”
Johan Edfors’ day was a rather more eventful affair, as the Swede – a winner of three European Tour and two Challenge Tour titles – mixed seven birdies and an eagle with two bogeys and a double.
That mistake at the par three fourth hole, where he pulled his tee shot onto a cart path and into the water, had appeared costly, but he rebounded immediately with an eagle putt from the fringe of the fifth green.
Edfors said: “I played some really solid stuff today, and could’ve gone lower because I missed a few chances on the front nine, and then made that really stupid double bogey. But I got it straight back on the next, and even though I followed up with two more bogeys I finished with two birdies, so I was really happy with the way I battled today.
“It’s been a tough year for me so far, but if I can keep grinding out a score like I did today, then I’ll be OK. I think I’ll concentrate on the Challenge Tour for the rest of the season. I picked up an injury at the start of the year and my game wasn’t where it should have been, so I didn’t want to ask for more invitations and deny someone else a spot in the field. But I’m slowly getting back to where I want to be.”
With the afternoon starters yet to complete their rounds, England’s Gary Lockerbie and Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera currently share fifth place on four under par.
