Simon P Brown, Marc Farry and Nick Job all overcame extremely trying weather conditions at The International in Amsterdam to share the clubhouse lead before the opening round of the Dutch Senior Open was abandoned for the day due to darkness.
The players had to battle heavy rain and cold temperatures and, while the course held up admirably in the conditions, low scores were at a premium at the beautiful lay-out situated next to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport.
Job was the first one to set the marker at one under par as the Englishman showed his mettle in bouncing back from a double-bogey at the 16th to finish with back to back birdies and card an opening round 72.
The five-time Senior Tour winner had already kept steady in difficult circumstances in the Dutch capital by opening with nine consecutive pars before a birdie at the tenth got him in the red. A bogey at the par four 12th was cancelled out by a birdie at the 15th before his rollercoaster finish helped him to an early lead.
“We had semi-torrential rain almost the whole way through our so it was a good score,” said the 64 year old. “I've got a good caddie and he helped me through it.
“The course is playing really good and the greens aren’t flooded or anything, it’s in great condition. It’s a tough golf course, tough pins and not many tees are forward so it’s playing long and it was very cold.
“I love airplanes though, so I was watching them fly overhead, inspired by them you might say! It’s a good tough track out there.
“At the 16th I popped it in the sand and it was like quicksand in those conditions so it’s hard to get the ball out. I nearly holed the putt for five but then I birdied the next two holes so that was nice. It was a nice way to finish.”
Brown, meanwhile, is chasing a second victory of the season after claiming his maiden title at the Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) last month and he got off to a perfect start in the Netherlands as he birdied his opening two holes, the tenth and 11th.
He lost his momentum with a bogey at the 12th but he instantly got that dropped shot back with a birdie at the next. A double-bogey at the 16th followed by another dropped shot at the 17th took him to the turn in one over before two birdies on the way home, including one to finish at the ninth, moved him to the summit alongside Job.
The two Englishmen were later joined by Frenchman Farry, who was one of only a handful of the afternoon groups to finish their opening rounds, and he was enthused by his impressive one under par 72, especially given he has struggled for form thus far this season.
“I played really well to be honest because I even had a couple of three-putts out there so it could have been better,” said the two-time Senior Tour winner, who won the 1996 BMW International Open on The European Tour.
“It was very difficult and by the time I finished in the afternoon the course was pretty saturated. The rain just didn’t stop at all.
“I'm happy with my round and I need to play well because I haven’t had a good season so far so it would be great if I could post a couple of good scores in the next few days. I have just found a rhythm I think.
“I'm definitely glad to be in the clubhouse and I think I’ll deserve a glass of wine or two tonight! It’s a good course out there so I'm looking forward to the weekend.”
South African Hendrik Buhrmann was the leader on the course on two under par as he carded six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in his opening 14 holes.
Steen Tinning, winner of last week’s English Senior Open and current Senior Tour Order of Merit leader, was one of three players in the clubhouse on level par after a steady round of 73 as he chases a third victory of the season.
Ireland’s Denis O’Sullivan and Spaniard Juan Quiros were the other two just one off the clubhouse target while Englishman Philip Golding was level par through 15 holes as he targets a second win of the year to add to his Speedy Services Wales Senior Open victory in June.
