Todd Clements obtained off to a roaring begin on the Irish Open, firing a 5-under 66 at Royal County Down, one of the lovely but difficult programs on the earth.
He closed his very good opening spherical with an eagle-three on the par-5 18th, which provides him a one-shot benefit over Sami Valimaki of Finland and Alejandro del Rey of Spain by 18 holes. However after that putt dropped, Clements made an eye-opening revelation about his day.
He referred to as it “Probably the greatest rounds I’ve performed in my life,” uttering these actual phrases to his caddy whereas they walked off the 18th inexperienced.
Any tour professional can fireplace a 66 on nearly any course. However no course can examine to Royal County Down, which weaves its manner by the sand dunes alongside the Irish Sea and provides extra blind photographs than one would want. 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 underneath par on Thursday, and that quantity will decline because the event 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 positive. I feel simply having an excellent angle, everybody goes to have challenges; it’s going to be troublesome at factors. This golf course is rarely going to offer 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 relatively troublesome.
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But, one of the best gamers on the earth 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 situations.
“I feel our technique is simply to play par golf, particularly on a course this difficult, and I felt like I did that fairly effectively immediately,” Clements added.
“I drove it nice. I hit a whole lot of good-quality photographs and simply hit my ball in the proper areas. My caddie was nice immediately; he had the course mapped out nice, and it labored effectively.”
You need to drive the ball effectively at Royal County Down, or you might be in for a protracted 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 effectively, discovering loads of fairways and first cuts. However he did hook his tee shot into bother on 13, which pressured him to hit a provisional. But, {the golfing} gods smiled down upon him, understanding he was having among the best rounds of his life. His ball was discovered, and Clements proceeded to make par, which finally stored 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 exhausting 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 check. 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 Taking part in By way of. Remember to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.
