Søren Kjeldsen enjoys return to scene of last victory

Søren Kjeldsen rolled back the years at the Amgen Irish Open to put himself in contention once more at Royal County Down.

The 49-year-old Dane won the last of his four DP World Tour titles last time this event was held at the same venue in 2015.

“That was really good,” said Kjeldsen after making three birdies against a single bogey to sit two under after the first round in Northern Ireland. “I hit the ball incredibly well. I was in good control with my long game.

“Didn't have to use my short game a whole lot, but when I did, it was okay, and felt incredibly uncomfortable on the greens but managed to putt sort of half-decent.

“No wonder it's been voted one of the best courses in the world, if not the best. Every shot is so exciting.

“You have so many options how to hit the shot, and you really need to be creative and you need to be able to control your golf ball... your trajectory, your spin, all that.

“There's so many things that go into getting a good result here, which makes it a lot more fun.

“I just think the way that my game is, I think that it suits this type of golf. But obviously we all have good memories. I love being out here.”

Kjeldsen plans to enter US Champions Tour qualifying later this year with a view to moving to the seniors circuit after he turns 50 next May.

“I think mentally it's been difficult to accept that the time is for that now,” he added. “But at the same time, the timing is right because is I play well a lot of weeks now where I struggle to compete, and that's mentally draining.

“I'm still a competitor and I want to be up there where you have to play for the championship on Sundays, and hopefully I can do that with the seniors. But it's getting really difficult out here for me.”