Latest news with #Colsaerts
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Colsaerts sets the pace in New Delhi's Indian Open
Belgian Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts has turned back the clock to lead the Indian Open after the first round, alongside Englishman Marcus Armitage and Sweden's Marcus Kinhult. The 42-year-old Colsaerts, who's also been a Ryder Cup vice-captain with the European team, likened the DLF Golf and Country Club course in New Delhi to a major championship layout as he recovered from two over after three holes with the aid of five birdies in his last 11 holes on Thursday. "The rough is high this year, the greens are firmer and it's a little bit like a mini US Open, it's a really hard course," said Colsaerts, who was a member of the winning 2012 team. "I would like to stay as patient as I was today and keep understanding that the pars are good, if you make a few birdies it's great. Everybody's going to make bogeys and I'm going to try to keep the ball in play as much as possible." Armitage continued his trend for making fast starts, carding seven birdies and three bogeys in his round. It is the third time this season Armitage has found himself in such a position after day one, the 37-year-old having carded an opening 63 in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and a 65 in last week's Singapore Classic. Armitage, who won his sole European Tour title to date in the European Open in 2021, will be hoping it is a case of third time lucky in India after finishing second in Ras Al Khaimah and fifth in Singapore. "I really like the golf course, it's different, you've got to play some great golf to shoot a good score and I putted fantastic today so it's really cool to get some success around here," Armitage said. The leading Australian was Jason Scrivener, who shot a level-par 72, while Austin Bautista and Daniel Gale were both four over after 76s. After a good week at the Singapore Open which he finished with a top-20 place, Melbourne's Cameron John had a bit of a nightmare with his opening-round 83, which included a quintuple-bogey 10 at the long eighth hole.
Khaleej Times
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Dubai-based Nicolas Colsaerts overcomes slow start to lead Hero Indian Open
Dubai resident Nicolas Colsaerts made a strong start at the Hero Indian Open, recovering from a slow beginning to overcome a 'tough' course and share the lead after the first round with Marcus Armitage and Marcus Kinhult. The three-time DP World Tour winner, and Ambassador for the Brain & Performance Centre, a DP World Company, set the pace early on Thursday with a round of 68 despite bogeying two of his first three holes at DLF Golf and Country Club in Delhi. The 42-year-old Belgian, who earned his 2025 DP World Tour card with a second-place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last season, is aiming to jumpstart his campaign in India this week. Colsaerts notched his first birdie of the day at the fourth hole, followed by another at the sixth. Despite a bogey at the seventh, he rallied with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth, turning at one under par. He kept his momentum going with birdies at the tenth, fourteenth, and the par-five fifteenth, navigating the back nine without a single dropped shot to finish at four under par. Colsaerts set the early target on a challenging course, one of the toughest on the DP World Tour. Challenging course "It went great today," said Colsaerts after his round. "It's a difficult golf course, and anyone shooting under par today will be extremely happy. The rough is high, the greens are firmer, and it feels a bit like a mini-US Open. It's a tough course, but I really like the layout—especially the 18th and the visually striking 16th par-three." Looking ahead, Colsaerts added, "I want to stay patient. Pars are good, and if you make a few birdies, it's great. Everyone will make bogeys, but I'll aim to keep the ball in play and stay in contention." Kinhult impressed in his first round with early birdies at the first, second, and fourth holes. After a bogey at the seventh, he bounced back with a birdie at the par-five eighth and turned at three under par. The 2019 Betfred British Masters winner kept his scorecard clean on the way in, adding a birdie at the fifteenth to tie for the lead. Armitage, riding the momentum of a strong start to the 2025 Race to Dubai, including a fifth-place finish at last week's Porsche Singapore Classic, was pleased with his performance on day one of the Hero Indian Open—the second event of the Asian Swing. Thomas grinds Dubai-born Rayhan Thomas, a 25-year-old Dubai Golden Visa Awardee and member of the PGA Tour's Korn Ferry Tour, posted a level-par 72 to tie for 30th place. With just four shots separating him from the leaders, Thomas reflected, "Today was a bit of a grind. I didn't hit the ball well, but I put and chipped well to keep myself in a reasonable position. This course is one of the toughest in the world, so I'm proud of my positive mindset." Thomas, who had family members watching from the gallery, added, "Let's hope I can play better and score lower in the second round." Other notable players with Dubai and UAE connections included Aaron Cockerill (Canada), representing The Els Club, Dubai, as well as Dubai residents Julien Guerrier (France), Johannes Verman (US), Shiv Kapur (India), and Ewen Ferguson (Scotland), who all shot level-par 72. First Round Scores N. Colsaerts (BEL) 68 M. Kinhult (SWE) 68 M. Armitage (ENG) 68 J. Luiten (NED) 69 U. Coussard (FRA) 69 A. Sandhu (IND) 69 M. Jordan (ENG) 69 T. Clements (ENG) 69 R. Fisher (ENG) 69
