Dario Antonisse made the perfect start in his pursuit for a DP World Tour card by posting a six under par round of 65 to climb into a share of the lead at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School.
Dario Antonisse made the perfect start in his pursuit for a DP World Tour card by posting a six under par round of 65 to climb into a share of the lead at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School.
The Dutchman carded seven birdies and one bogey on the Lakes Course at INFINITUM to join Sweden’s Simon Forsström at the top of the leaderboard, who had set the target earlier in the day after carding a six under par round of 66 at the Hills Course.
Antonisse impressed at the First Stage of Qualifying School before recording a tie for fourth at Second Stage and he is now targeting a top 25 finish this week to earn DP World Tour playing privileges.
“After this morning I am delighted with that performance,” he said “I was hitting balls at the range, and it didn’t feel great. I decided to get onto the course and just focus on playing a good round of golf. I started really hot which built up my confidence and then I was able to keep it going. In the end to shoot six under in these windy conditions is pretty good.
“This is my first year as a professional and I have been playing on the Pro Golf Tour. The first few months of the year were tough because I was playing well but didn’t score great. The last six months it has been much better and I went to First Stage full of confidence. I played really well last week at Second Stage and eventually finished fourth to make it here this week.”
The duo lead by one with a host of players chasing them down including 2007 Challenge Tour Number One Mike Lorenzo-Vera who shares third place with six-time DP World Tour winner Simon Dyson, Englishman Daniel O’Loughlin, Denmark’s Nicolai Kristensen, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and German Velten Meyer on five under par.
“I had to focus a bit more than usual,” said Lorenzo-Vera. “I like it when it’s windy because it makes the shots clearer than when it’s super quiet. When it’s super quiet I struggle to see the shots.
“Everybody knows how much I love the DP World Tour and how much I love playing there. I’ve been struggling the last two years but the last two tournaments were proper and I felt like the game was coming back.”
Englishman Daniel Brown, Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch, Frenchman David Ravetto and Spanish duo Emilio Cuartero Blanco and Manuel Elvira share ninth place on four under par.
Round two will get under way at 9:00am local time, with Antonisse teeing it up alongside Frenchman Damien Perrier and England’s Thomas Thurloway at 9:42am.
