A stunning course record eight under par 64 at Vale do Lobo gave Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson the lead after the first round of the Algarve Open de Portugal.
The 28 year old, who won his maiden European Tour title earlier this season in the Omega Hong Kong Open, laid excellent foundations for a second success with his flawless effort in the Portugese sunshine, a round which gave him a two shot lead over England’s Greg Owen.
Welshman Bradley Dredge and Carlos Rodiles of Spain shared third spot after both opening with 69s but the limelight of the day belonged to Jacobson who made light of the tough course, made more demanding by the heavy weekend rain which soaked the Algarve.
The Swede made his intentions clear with three birdies in a row from the third and when he followed that up with another two gains at the seventh and eighth, he was at the turn in 32.
The birdie trail looked to have dried up when he carded five straight pars on the back nine, but the magic returned when Jacobson birdied the 15th, 17th and the 18th, the latter a memorable curling 20 foot putt in front of the grandstands on the home green.
Jacobson’s score was all the more remarkable considering it was his first tournament action in ten weeks having damaged his left wrist in the Caltex Masters, presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2003.
“I went to see a doctor in Sweden but they couldn’t find anything serious on the X-rays, it is probably just a little bit of inflammation,” he said. “It is still there a little bit now but I can’t rest any longer.”
Certainly if he carries on hitting fewer shots than the rest of the field, it will provide the perfect tonic for his injury. “I felt very comfortable once I had got started and made a few birdies,” he said. “It is fair to say I am amazed to have shot 64 though because it has been such a long break and I am normally a bit of slow starter in the season. But it is nice to get a good round in.”
Second placed Owen has been out of competitive European Tour action since the Qatar Masters but admitted he had kept his eye in by taking on the members at his local Coxmoor club in Nottinghamshire.
The 31 year old played a round without any woods in his bag and shot 69 on the par 73 course before reinstating the woods and carding eight birdies and an eagle in a stunning ten under par 63.
“The course at Coxmoor is playing pretty short so I’ve been making plenty birdies but I think that helps because you get into a routine of doing just that,” said Owen. “It doesn’t matter how short the holes are you have still got to hit the shots towards the flags and hole them.
“It is nice to see yourself peppering the flag and that is what I’m working on with my brain trainer, just try and visualise what you do on your home course when you are out playing tournaments – it is the same game after all, just a different location.”
Owen’s visualisation was right on the mark in the early stages of his first round, notching four birdies in a row from the second hole and carding another at the eighth to reach the turn, like Jacobson, in 32.
A bogey five at the tough 14th where he missed the green halted the Englishman’s momentum, but he recovered his composure and his touch with closing birdies at the 15th and 17th to be home in 34 for his six under par 66.
Having featured in the top ten after the first round 11 times in the last two seasons on The European Tour, the question of when his maiden victory is going to come is one he is often asked but Owen admitted he is now taking the philosophical view.
“Everyone keeps saying when are you going to win but I think if you keep putting pressure on yourself it is no good,” he said. “I feel like one of the senior players now, there are so many new faces every year. I’m only 31 but I feel like I’ve been out here for a long time.
“I’m just going to try and do my things well. If that brings a victory then great, if it doesn’t, as long as I’m trying my best, then I can’t ask for much more. I think it will and when the scoring is as high as it was today, it gives me every chance.”
Sharing third place on 69 looked a long way off for Bradley Dredge when he reached the turn in two over par 38 but the Welshman showed the quality which bagged him his maiden European Tour title in the Madeira Island Open last month with a classy inward half.
Birdies at the 13th and 16th were followed by an eagle three at the 17th which moved him alongside Carlos Rodiles who had two bogeys on his card but made amends with five birdies elsewhere.
