After an intriguing and, quite frankly, tense opening day at the Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club, there was plenty of movement on a tightly packed leaderboard, as well as on an especially fluid provisional Rankings.
Of those making the biggest move was one Lasse Jensen, who has his opening round of 69 to thank for him climbing six places as it stands on the season-long list after 18 holes, with the Dane set to occupy the 13th spot with three rounds still to play.
His only dropped shot of the day came on the beastly par three third hole, which might not have been the ideal start, but gains at the eighth, 13th, 14th and 16th saw him right the ship and finish in a three-way tie for second alongside last week’s winner Max Orrin and Turkish Airlines Challenge victor Oliver Farr.
For Jensen this week could well be the culmination of a solid season that kicked off in fine style with a runner-up finish to Jake Roos in Kenya, and if he were to hold station and repeat that feat this week, then the same result could see him return to The Race to Dubai in 2015.
“It was really good out there,” said the 30 year old Copenhagen resident. “I felt comfortable today, and I managed to play the tough holes pretty good. I had a lot of patience out there and I think that paid off, as there were a few tough pins and I was just plugging along, but then I finished well with three birdies, so it was a really good back nine.
“The wind was not tough compared to last week, as that was really difficult, but it is still a course where playing the holes downwind or into plays a big role, especially as it was maybe a one or two club wind. You need to attack the pin when you can though, and make a good game plan for when you can’t.
“After today I feel comfortable as I hit a lot of great shots out there. Last week I was up there after the first round and then my game just fell apart in the hard wind, but I feel like I have had some good days to work on it, and I’m there again.
“Let’s hope I can finish it off this week even though there is so much golf left. I just need to be there on Saturday, on the back nine, as that’s what it is all about.”
The Dane is right, to be in contention for the title and a return to European golf’s top table come Saturday afternoon is all he needs to focus on, but that can be easier said than done with so much on the line this week in Dubai.
Jensen is a relatively experienced campaigner though, and he talks a lot of sense when it comes to dealing with the pressure he is playing under, a fact that should stand him in excellent stead over the next three days.
“We all have a brain, and if you tell it you can’t think about something, then you start thinking about it. If the Rankings comes to your mind you just need to welcome it and think of it as a positive,” said the man who finished 171st in his debut season on The European Tour in 2013.
“Why am I thinking this? It is because it’s my goal and my dream, so hold on, that’s a good thing.
“I just want to have a laugh and stay positive and if you make it, you make it, otherwise just play your best and that’s it.”
One man’s fortune in golf can often be another man’s downfall, and it is no different in this instance, as Jensen’s ascension into the top 15 has seen Jason Barnes fall out.
The Kent native entered the week at 14th on the Rankings, and he battled back from an uncharacteristically poor start on the opening afternoon, rallying from a double and two bogeys on the front nine that had seen him fall to four over par through just seven holes.
Two birdies followed though – as well as an eagle on the 13th – so a 69 was just about what he felt he deserved after a finish that still has him in contention for a dream promotion.
“It was a bit of a weird round because I started off playing really well,” said the provisionally 16th ranked Barnes, who has his girlfriend caddying for him this week. “I just hit one poor shot on the fifth into the water and made a double, and then I went bogey-bogey without doing much wrong, as I just mis-clubbed.
“From there I fought back nicely, and I holed a wedge from 100 yards. So although I missed a short putt on the 18th to finish two under, I think all things being fair, one under was about right today.
“It is a great position to be in, but at the same time, it is a horrible one too as you are so close yet so far. It is so close at the moment, and with one good hole you can move in, but with one bad one you can fall out, but it is as much in my hands as the other guys. I don’t want to wish bad results on anyone, but I need them to finish worse than me, so it is a good and bad situation."
The other man to fall out of the provisional top 15 at the end of the opening day was Challenge de Catalunya winner Antonio Hortal, who fell two places to 17th after a round of 72, this time thanks to the fine play of Max Orrin, who climbed five spots to 12th after an opening 69.
