Cool Winther leads the way in Belgium

Denmark’s Jeff Winther made a flying start to the KPMG Trophy in Belgium with a superb seven under par 65 in the first round.<br /><br />The 27 year old set the benchmark high with a superb round featuring nine birdies and two bogeys, making light work of the windy conditions at Golf de Pierpont to lead by two shots from a group of five players - Englishman Gary Boyd, Spaniard Agustin Domingo, Frenchman Edouard Dubois, Sweden’s Jacob Glennemo and Dutchman Taco Remkes.<br /><br />Winther was left ruing a bogey at the par three ninth – his final hole, having teed off from the tenth – but overall was happy with his opening effort.<br /><br />“I’m annoyed about the last and the other bogey on the 18th, but it’s okay, that’s golf,” he said. “I hit a lot of shots really close – I had six putts inside six feet.<br /><br /><blockquote title="jeff">“It was like playing links golf out there – it’s incredibly firm. <br />
<strong>Jeff Winther</strong></blockquote>

I’ve never played on links courses really, but I like it.<br /><br />“On the last I missed the green left and chipped it on to three feet, but missed the putt. I missed another short one for birdie on seven, too – the three last holes could’ve been much better.<br /><br />“It’s an interesting course. Off the tee it’s going a mile, so you’ve only got wedges and short irons into the greens. Even on the par fives your second shot is with a five iron.”<br /><br />Winther was a rookie on the Challenge Tour last season, having graduated from the Nordic League in 2013, and feels he is ready to make the next step.<br /><br />“I want it so badly this year,” he added. “Last year was like a test for me to see what the Challenge Tour was like and see how I got on.<br /><br />“I really got a good feeling and managed to play 18 times with the category I had. Now I know what’s going on and it feels more like home, and I’m ready to push on.”<br /><br />Glennemo and Remkes were the only bogey-free players in the top 20, the latter attributing his impressive start to a hot putter.

“This is a totally different golf course from what we’ve played all year,” said Remkes. “It’s super hard, very firm. The greens are good, and you have to think a bit differently – it’s quite linksy.<br /><br />“I didn’t actually hit the ball that well, but my putting was great today. I played well at the weekend last week and that has given me some confidence coming here.”<br /><br />Belgian Thomas Pieters did not have the homecoming he had hoped for, carding a four over par 76 in his first competitive appearance on home soil since 2008. The 23 year old European Tour player had three bogeys and a double in his opening nine holes, but rallied after the turn and came home in one under par.<br /><br />