England's Ben Jones carded a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Egypt Golf Series Address Marassi Golf Resort 2, the third event of the MENA Golf Tour's four-tournament Egypt swing.
Jones holds a one-shot advantage over a trio of players at six under – Italy's Giovanni Manzoni, Scotland's Michael Stewart and Spain's Juan Salama – as players returned to the Address Marassi Golf Resort course for the second consecutive week.
The Englishman, who admitted to benefiting from favourable
conditions, was pleased with his ball-striking throughout the round.
"It was a bit fortunate the first day by getting the right
side of the wind and that's when you have to take advantage of the
course," said Jones. "I hit it really solid all day, stayed out of
trouble and had no dropped shots, so I'm really happy with that. It's probably
my best round of the year so far and hopefully I can keep that going.
"I nearly holed one on eight and for a second I thought it
was in, and then on the final putt of the day I nearly grabbed another birdie.
It hit the back of the hole but just didn't drop. I maybe hit it a little firm
because I misjudged the wind down there."
Stewart, who has shown consistent form throughout
the Egypt Swing, credited his preparation and growing familiarity with the
course for his strong start.
"I played really nicely today. I felt like I had good control
of my ball in the wind, which was really important out there," said the
Scot. "The preparation over the last few days definitely helped, and last
week's final round was very breezy as well, so that experience carried over.
"I would not say it is getting easier, because it is not, but
you do start putting yourself in better positions because you understand the
course and the misses a bit more. Overall, it just felt like one of those days
where I played really solid golf, gave myself plenty of chances, and managed to
take a few of them."
Salama enjoyed a tale of two halves having teed off on the 10th,
with six birdies on his back nine- the course’s front nine - transforming his
round.
"Six under is obviously very pleasing, but it really felt
like two completely different nines out there," said the Spaniard.
"The front nine was quite tough and I started a little cold with the
putter. On the back nine everything clicked, the putter got hot and I was able
to make six birdies, which made a huge difference.
"Finishing the round by holing that putt on my final hole was
a great feeling and gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow."
Italy's Ludovico Addabbo, currently second in the MENA Golf Tour
Rankings, sits alone in fifth at five under, went blemish-free on the card,
which included an eagle on the fourth hole and three birdies on the back nine.
Rankings leader Chris Wood, who won last week's Marassi 1 event in
a dramatic play-off, is among a large group at one over par following an
opening 73 as he looks for a repeat win at the venue where he claimed victory
just days ago.
The Egypt Golf Series continues with USD $100,000 prize money and
Official World Golf Ranking points on offer. Following this week's event, the
Tour concludes its Egypt Swing at Madinaty Golf Club in Cairo (3-5 February).