Vince van Veen and JC Ritchie share a one stroke lead after the opening day of the UAE Challenge at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club.
Dutchman Van Veen made the most of calm morning conditions in Ajman to card an eight under par round of 64 before South African Ritchie followed suit in the afternoon. The pair sit one shot clear of Englishman George Bloor and Frenchman Romain Wattel who share third.
Van Veen, starting on the 10th, birdied three of his first five holes before picking up shots on four consecutive holes around the turn. After tapping in a stress-free par on his closing hole, the 28-year-old was thrilled with his day’s work.
“It was a good one to start with,” Van Veen said. “I’m happy enough with all the things I’ve seen today. I had seen my putting coach prior to the tournament, and I am rolling it nicely, so it was good.
“I hit a couple close but also knocked in a few nice ones. On hole three I think I made one from about 15 to 18 foot range. Sometimes when you make a couple you keep the momentum going and all of a sudden everything seems to go in.
“I know I am hitting the ball well at the moment and my putting is starting to come around. I need to manage to hit small targets on the greens because some of the pins are very tight here. I think that’s an important thing for me over the next few days.”
Ritchie, who has tasted victory on the HotelPlanner Tour four times, made nine birdies and a solitary bogey to join Van Veen on eight under par.
“That’s what dreams are made of. It was good,” Ritchie said.
“I’ve been playing really well lately, the game has been in a really good space and I was really confident coming in. It’s nice to start off the week with a good score like that.”
The 31-year-old’s only dropped shot came at the par four seventh, before he bounced back with a closing gain on the ninth – his last - and he was delighted to finish his round on a positive note.
“It was nice to get a good one away on the ninth, hit a nice little nine iron in there to 12 feet and made a nice putt,” he added.
“I’ve been fighting a couple of monsters the last year or so. The game has been there, it’s just been about staying out of my own way, staying out of my own head and letting the game happen.”
Scottish duo Euan Walker and David Law, Indian Saptak Talwar and Peru’s Julian Perico share fifth on six under par, with England’s Chris Paisley and Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy two of nine players one shot further back in ninth.
The second round of the UAE Challenge gets underway at 6:30am local time, with Ritchie teeing off at 07:20am whilst Van Veen goes off at 12:20pm.
