An exquisite lob wedge which found the bottom of the cup from 99 yards for an eagle two saw Rafa Cabrera Bello put the seal on a fine first round performance at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
The Ryder Cup star produced the perfect end to his opening round at the Hong Kong Golf Club to establish a one-stroke lead over Frenchman Sébastien Gros with a six under par 65.
Seeing the name of Cabrera Bello at the top of the leaderboard is certainly no surprise given the year the Spaniard has enjoyed.
The European Tour is ending the calendar year at the Hong Kong Golf Club and Cabrera Bello has been one of the stand-out performers of 2016, not missing a single cut and finishing eighth on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex. The 32 year old also enjoyed an outstanding Ryder Cup debut as an undefeated rookie in Darren Clarke’s European Team.
Gros produced a solid opening on his debut at the Hong Kong Golf Club, carding five birdies on a stress free first round 66 to move into second spot, one stroke ahead of a ten-strong group of players which includes Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Smith – the 2016 Challenge Tour Number One – and Peter Uihlein, who is making a comeback from ruptured knee ligaments and a broken wrist.
Olympic Gold medallist Justin Rose overcame his back injury to open the defence of his UBS Hong Kong Open title with a level-par 71, while Masters Champion Danny Willett opened with a two under 70. Ryder Cup superstars Ian Poulter and Patrick Reed played together to card respective rounds of two under and level par to remain very much in contention with three rounds to go at Fanling.
Player Quotes
Rafa Cabrera Bello: “That was a very nice way to finish. I had perfect distance, hit really good shot and was surprised to see it go in. I have never really finished a round like that, so it felt nice. I played really smart today, made very little mistakes. I didn’t give myself in trouble off the tee. I was in control of the round all day and putted nicely, too, so it was nice work out there. This course is all about position, position, position, and rolling one or two putts and I did that very well today.”
Sébastian Gros: “Playing on The Asian Tour in 2014 helped me to try to get answers to all the questions I had around the greens, especially, and trying to deal with the grain every time. That’s something you can’t find in Europe. Maybe it helped me but it helped me get on The European Tour for sure. I didn’t have any good result recently on the last month but I could feel that I was getting in a better shape over the last few weeks, so I’m happy with the score.”
Ian Poulter: “I’m really annoyed. I’m probably going to need to go to a padded room for about half an hour, and then I’ll be all right. In the last couple of years I’ve made way too many mental errors. It’s really getting on my nerves at the moment. I’m getting frustrated on the course which doesn’t help and I’ve got every right to be annoyed. Especially after getting off to a decent start like that. It’s unlike me; I shouldn’t be making those mistakes and I need to rectify it.
“I’m going to be an angry man until I feel I get myself back in position. It’s disappointing because I’m putting some work in and I’m doing some great stuff, and I’m not getting the rewards because my brain is getting in the way. So I just need to move that little square cube over a little bit in between my ears and we might be all right.”
Justin Rose: “I was pretty happy with that to be honest. I felt good with my body out there. I felt like it hit a lot of good golf shots and just really struggled on the greens. I thought they were tricky this afternoon. I didn’t quite have the speed. I’ve worked really hard the last few weeks and I have to thank all the team around me that helped me back home and have done so much all year to keep me fit and keep me going and I’m really excited for what next year holds.
“The UBS Hong Kong Open is a great tournament for me, especially after winning last year. I had so much fun and it’s one of my favourite cities in the world so to come back here with the Olympic Gold is definitely a treat. People just enjoy seeing it. It’s definitely one of those iconic things that people enjoy having a photograph with and I’m certainly milking it!”
Round one scores
64 R Cabrera Bello (Esp);
65 S Gros (Fra);
66 T Fleetwood (Eng); J Kruger (RSA); B Hebert (Fra); P Uihlein (USA); N Elvira (Esp); D Lipsky (USA); P Peterson (USA); J Smith (Eng); S Brazel (Aus); J Campillo (Esp);
67 J Pagunsan (Phi); D Boonma (Tha); J Walters (RSA); T Jaidee (Tha); J Fahrbring (Swe); J Scrivener (Aus); N Kimsey (Eng); N Bertasio (Ita); S Rahman (Ban);
68 S Kapur (Ind); D Willett (Eng); P Dunne (Irl); C Pigem (Esp); S Lewton (Eng); L Wei-Chih (Tpe); M Armitage (Eng); W Ormsby (Aus); I Poulter (Eng);
69 G Bourdy (Fra); M Tabuena (Phi); S Hend (Aus); M Jiménez (Esp); D Drysdale (Sco); C Paisley (Eng); A Lascuna (Phi); M Mamat (Sin); H Chien-Yao (Tpe); T Pilkadaris (Aus); D Chia (Mas); A Dodt (Aus); A Björk (Swe); G Bhullar (Ind); D Im (USA); P Angles (Esp); D Perrier (Fra); D Stewart (Sco); P Pittayarat (Tha); N Srithong (Tha); S Gallacher (Sco); A Da Silva (Bra); J Janewattananond (Tha); P Larrazábal (Esp); G Storm (Eng); P Tangkamolprasert (Tha);
70 A Atwal (Ind); D Howell (Eng); J Stalter (Fra); M Carlsson (Swe); P Reed (USA); D Zecheng (Chn); R Rock (Eng); J Rose (Eng); L Chieh-Po (Tpe); L Wenchong (Chn); L Wen-Tang (Tpe);
71 B Rumford (Aus); M Fraser (Aus); J Randhawa (Ind); S Chawrasia (Ind); P Waring (Eng); L Weber (Fra); B Munson (USA); R Gangjee (Ind); T Khrongpha (Tha); C Nirat (Tha); B Ritthammer (Ger); C Phadungsil (Tha);
72 S Lee (Kor); R Lee (Can); S Barr (Aus); H Rai (Ind); J Colomo (Esp); L Jensen (Den); J Stewart (Hkg); M Kawamura (Jpn); K Richardson (Aus); S Norris (RSA); J Wang (Kor); H Porteous (RSA); A Groom (Aus); J Quesne (Fra); E Molinari (Ita); C Shih-Chang (Tpe); N Fung (Mas);
73 S Henry (Sco); C Kumar (Ind); T Chuayprakong (Tha); P Meesawat (Tha); A Que (Phi); T Detry (Bel);
74 M Pavon (Fra); S Tiley (Eng); P Junhasavasdikul (Tha); Z Lianwei (Chn); D Frittelli (RSA); R Wattel (Fra); K Horne (RSA); G Havret (Fra); Y Yin Ho (Hkg); Y Artigolle (am) (Hkg); T Ng (am) (Hkg);
75 C Plaphol (Tha); S Dyson (Eng); C Hanson (Eng); D Brooks (Eng); M Perera (Sri); S Walker (Eng); K Aphibarnrat (Tha);
76 U Park (Aus); R Khan (Ind); R Beem (USA); J Knutzon (USA); H Wong (am) (Hkg);
77 R Paratore (Ita);
