Sterne seizes early initiative at Nexo Championship
South African leads by one after setting new course record in Scotland
Las Vegas - Richard Sterne produced a blemish-free five under par 67 to claim the first-round lead at the Nexo Championship, edging ahead at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire.
Starting on the tenth, the six-time DP World Tour winner carded two birdies on his opening nine before picking up further shots at the first, third and seventh. His tidy up-and-down at the drivable par-four seventh capped a round that set the course record, a mark worth $10,000 this week under a new bonus scheme with title sponsor Nexo.
“When I was here on Tuesday, it was about double this wind and I lost about seven or eight balls,” Sterne said. “The course is quite tricky even though the wind is not as bad as it has been in the practice rounds. I hit the ball well, better than I have been for a while, so that was quite key. I need to have some good performances — it has been a tough year.”
Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen and fellow South African Thomas Aiken both threatened to match Sterne’s total but bogeyed the last to fall back into a share of second with Louis Albertse on four under. Defending champion Adrian Otaegui, Spain’s Jorge Campillo and English quintet John Parry, Jordan Smith, Matthew Baldwin, Joe Dean and Alex Fitzpatrick sit a further shot back alongside Dutchman Darius van Driel.
With 54 holes remaining, Sterne is mindful of the challenge ahead: “If the wind can stay like it is then it’s quite playable, but if it gets a bit windier then it becomes really tricky. There’s a long way to go this week.”