Enoch knocking on the door in Finland
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<p>Rhys Enoch continued his good recent form on the European Challenge Tour by carding a first round 67 to claim a share of the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge lead.</p>
<p>The Welshman held the halfway lead at the Prague Golf Challenge and was also in contention going into the final day of the Swedish Challenge hosted by Robert Karlsson – his last two events on the Road to Oman.</p>
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<p>Three consecutive birdies got the 29 year old off to a perfect start at Vierumäki Resort, and after a further gain at the ninth, Enoch reached the turn in 33.</p>
<p>Another trio of birdies between 11 and 13 took Enoch to the top of the leaderboard, but a bogey at 17 meant he had to settle for a share of first place on five under with nine other players after day one.</p>
<p>Despite his late blemish, Enoch was happy with his opening round – and hopes he can keep his performance levels high for the rest of the week</p>
<p>“It went really nicely out there today,” said Enoch, whose best finish this season was tied 16th at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge.</p>
<p>“I have been playing really well the last couple of weeks, so I was really happy to be able to go out and keep it going.</p>
<p>“I got off to a great start after three birdies and I felt really comfortable out there. After making such a good start, and then getting to six under with five to go, I was aiming to get to seven or eight under really, but although I wasn’t able to do that it was a good first day’s work.</p>
<p>“The course is lovely – it has a really nice layout. The greens are running really nicely and it is a tough test as the fairways are quite narrow.</p>
<p>“You have a mixed approach out there really, as you have to go for a lot of drivers, but the wind today also allowed a lot of three irons off the tee.</p>
<p>“I have played well over the last few months without getting a big result, but I know my game is good.</p>
<p>“Today was the third time that I’ve recently been leading or close to leading after the first round, so hopefully I can keep this form going over the next three days.”</p>
<p>Joining Enoch at the top of the leaderboard after round one are no fewer than nine other players: England’s Matthew Baldwin and Charlie Ford, France’s Clément<em> </em>Sordet,</p>
<p>Mathieu Fenasse and Adrien Bernadet, Scotland’s Jamie McLeary and Finland’s Antti Ahokas, Kalle Samooja and Janne Kaske.</p>
<p>On an excellent first day for the home nation, Finnish amateurs Sami Valimaki and Matias Honkala – both still teenagers – finished their first appearances on the Challenge Tour three under and two under par respectively.</p>
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