Todd Clements obtained off to a roaring begin on the Irish Open, firing a 5-under 66 at Royal County Down, one of the vital stunning but difficult programs on the planet.
He closed his excellent opening spherical with an eagle-three on the par-5 18th, which supplies him a one-shot benefit over Sami Valimaki of Finland and Alejandro del Rey of Spain by means of 18 holes. However after that putt dropped, Clements made an eye-opening revelation about his day.
He known as it “The most effective rounds I’ve performed in my life,” uttering these precise phrases to his caddy whereas they walked off the 18th inexperienced.
Any tour professional can hearth a 66 on nearly any course. However no course can examine to Royal County Down, which weaves its approach by means of the sand dunes alongside the Irish Sea and gives extra blind photographs than one would need. Throw in a brutal crosswind and random rain showers, and this golf course is an absolute brute. It’s no surprise that solely 32 gamers on this 156-man discipline shot beneath par on Thursday, and that quantity will decline because the match wears on. Heck, Shane Lowry fired a warning shot earlier this week, predicting that this yr’s Irish Open at Royal County Down might produce the highest-ever successful rating on the DP World Tour.
“It’s a tough course, however yeah, delighted with the way it panned out,” Clements added.
“I performed the Professional-Am and thought that there could be some challenges for certain. I believe simply having a superb angle, everybody goes to have challenges; it’s going to be tough at factors. This golf course isn’t going to present you an inch.”
Rory McIlroy even referred to this golf course as “major-championship caliber.”
Royal County Down might actually host The Open Championship—the course is that difficult—however the infrastructure within the small city of Newcastle, coupled with the towering dunes and big gorse bushes that line these fairways, would make that reasonably tough.
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But, the most effective gamers on the planet are delighted to play on this week’s Irish Open, which returns to Royal County Down for the primary time since 2015. The successful rating that week was 2-under par, and solely three gamers carded rounds of 66s or higher that week. Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer even fired a 6-under 65 on Saturday that yr, however stumbled to a 1-over par end due to a Sunday 77 in brutal circumstances.
“I believe our technique is simply to play par golf, particularly on a course this difficult, and I felt like I did that fairly nicely at this time,” Clements added.
“I drove it nice. I hit a number of good-quality photographs and simply hit my ball in the best areas. My caddie was nice at this time; he had the course mapped out nice, and it labored nicely.”
You should drive the ball nicely at Royal County Down, or you’re in for an extended day. Loads of balls will disappear, too. You typically don’t have any clue the place they ended up because of the dozens of blind photographs you face.
For probably the most half, Clements drove the ball nicely, discovering loads of fairways and first cuts. However he did hook his tee shot into hassle on 13, which compelled him to hit a provisional. But, {the golfing} gods smiled down upon him, understanding he was having top-of-the-line rounds of his life. His ball was discovered, and Clements proceeded to make par, which finally saved his bogey-free again 9 intact.
Now, Clements, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory final yr within the Czech Republic, hopes to maintain it going all through the week. However he’s taking it one step at a time, one shot at a time, which is little question the prudent play.
“This course is as arduous because it will get,” Clements emphasised.
“Take it day-by-day, cliché. However [Friday], it’s going to be chilly; it’s going to be windy and one other grueling take a look at. Unhappy as it’s to say, I’m most likely wanting ahead to it.”
Golf followers in all places are, too.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying Via. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
