Andy Sullivan didn’t let an overnight suspension in play halt his progress as the Englishman took the outright lead after the opening round of the Telenet Trophy thanks to a stunning seven under par round of 64…
The 26 year old was two shots clear of the chasing pack as the second round got underway at Ravenstein Royal Golf Club of Belgium, following a suspension due to thunder and lightning which meant the final 15 groups were forced to finish their first rounds on the second day.
Sullivan had reached the 13th hole in seven under par prior to the delay after he got his first regular Challenge Tour event of the season off a perfect start, birdieing the first two holes.
A bogey at the fourth hole stunted his progress but only briefly, as he responded with an eagle on the par five fifth, hitting his rescue approach to seven feet before sinking the putt. Another birdie at the par three sixth followed, before back to back birdies on the 9th and 10th were followed by another on the 12th.
The horns sounded just as Sullivan’s momentum was building at the 13th and, while he was disappointed not to be able to finish his round, he was pleased not to drop any shots on the resumption of play, carding pars on the final six holes.
“I got off to a really nice start yesterday and holed a couple of nice putts to get the round going and then just kept on going really,” said the former Walker Cup player. “I hit a lot of good putts so I’m happy to come in with that score.
“It’s not ideal starting again when you’ve played really well, it’s tough to get it going again but I just kept it steady the last few holes. I made some good saves. I was in trouble on the 16th and made a really good up and down from the bunker so it was a bit scrappy at the end but I’m happy with it too.
“There’s a lot of confidence there and a lot of positives. My putting has been great and my swing feels good so I just need to start again now and see where that leaves me.”
When play was suspended, there were three players in the clubhouse on five under par – Benn Barham, Florian Fritsch and John Parry – and they were joined by the 2010 Challenge Tour Number One Alvaro Velasco after play restarted.
The Spaniard birdied the fifth hole in a steady front nine, reaching the turn in one under par 34, before a birdie at the 12th hole was followed immediately by an eagle on the par five 13th.
A further gained shot at the 15th hole was followed by his only bogey of the day at the 16th but the 31 year old finished well with a birdie on the par four 18th to end the first round in tied second place.
There were eight players a shot further back in tied sixth spot on four under par, including the Korean pair of Byeong-hun An and Todd Baek, a 20 year old Challenge Tour debutant who led the field early in the opening day on five under before being pegged back by a bogey on the seventh to sign for a 67.
Scores:
64 A Sullivan (Eng) ,
66 B Barham (Eng) , F Fritsch (Ger) , J Parry (Eng) , A Velasco (Esp) ,
67 J Wahlqvist (Swe) , Å Nilsson (Swe) , B An (Kor) , V Riu (Fra) , C Aguilar (Esp) , P Oriol (Esp) , A Domingo (Esp) , T Baek (Kor) ,
68 C Doak (Sco) , M Crespi (Ita) , C Ford (Eng) , S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) , M Delpodio (Ita) , J Guerrier (Fra) , J Doherty (Sco) , S Wakefield (Eng) ,
69 D Brooks (Eng) , C Paisley (Eng) , D Vancsik (Arg) , A Levy (Fra) , S Henry (Sco) , C Monasterio (Arg) , H Joannes (Bel) , A Hartø (Den) , R Karlberg (Swe) , J McLeary (Sco) , M Tullo (Chi) , A Kaleka (Fra) , K Eriksson (Swe) , S Davis (Eng) , A Perrino (Ita) , O Whiteley (Eng) , B Pastore (Ita) , B Åkesson (Swe) , S Walker (Eng) , J Lima (Por) , C Macaulay (Sco) , A Bernadet (Fra) ,
70 N Lemke (Swe) , M Kieffer (Ger) , J Garcia (Esp) , B Evans (Eng) , R Kakko (Fin) , J Granberg (Fin) , M Cryer (Eng) , G Houston (Wal) , G Dear (Sco) , A Hansen (Den) , C Gane (Eng) , B Ritthammer (Ger) , S Jeppesen (Swe) , M Lafeber (Ned) ,
71 J Gibb (Eng) , J Maurer (Aut) , D Law (Sco) , L Jensen (Den) , S Pinckney (USA) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , S Grant (Irl) , E Pepperell (Eng) , R Hjelm (Den) , A Parr (Can) , J Huldahl (Den) , P Dwyer (Eng) , S Kim (Kor) , R Schneider (Fra) , A Tadini (Ita) , E Kofstad (Nor) , D Gaunt (Aus) , P Archer (Eng) , M Korhonen (Fin) , M Madsen (Den) , A Rota (Ita) , N Bertasio (Ita) , L Saltman (Sco) , T Remkes (Ned) ,
72 F De Vries (Ned) , S Strange (Aus) , G Monville (Bel) , J Hansen (Den) , J Relecom (Bel) , G Stal (Fra) , M Ford (Eng) , A Hortal (Esp) , F Calmels (Fra) , A Tampion (Aus) , M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) , N Dougherty (Eng) , C Moriarty (Irl) , S O’Hara (Sco) , A Ahokas (Fin) , M Nixon (Eng) , M Boesmans (am) (Bel) ,
73 C Brazillier (Fra) , N Ravano (Ita) , H Bacher (Aut) , A Otaegui (Esp) , K Borsheim (Nor) , R Russell (Sco) , E Johansen (Nor) , B Chapellan (Fra) , P Erofejeff (Fin) , X Poncelet (Fra) , F Delamontagne (Fra) , B Parker (Eng) , S Piaget (Mon) , S Tiley (Eng) , U Weinhandl (Aut) , G Lockerbie (Eng) , C Russo (Fra) , R Quiros (Esp) ,
74 K Samooja (Fin) , P Relecom (Bel) , G Watremez (Bel) , M Quiros (Esp) , S Benson (Eng) , R De Sousa (Sui) , F McGuirk (Eng) , S Bebb (Wal) , A Gee (Eng) , B Etchart (Esp) , R Dinwiddie (Eng) ,
75 M Higley (Eng) , T Ferreira (RSA) , E De La Riva (Esp) , D Lokke (Den) ,
76 J Clément (Sui) , C Lloyd (Eng) , N Meitinger (Ger) , R Echenique (Arg) , F Praegant (Aut) , D Geminiani (Ita) , L Richard (Bel) , I Elvira (Esp) , T Detry (am) (Bel) ,
77 A McArthur (Sco) , G Seegmuller (Bel) , C Mivis (Bel) , N Vanhootegem (Bel) , J Theunis (Bel) , Q De Valensart (Bel) , P Rolland (am) (Bel) ,
78 M Southgate (Eng) , S De Wispelaere (am) (Bel) ,
79 A Kristiansen (Nor) , C Van Wassenhove (am) (Bel) ,
80 G Bhullar (Ind) , A Bossert (Sui) , L Canter (Eng) , S Echikson (am) (Bel) ,
** A Snobeck (Fra) ,
