SWITZERLAND’S Joel Girrbach, playing his first competitive round in three months on the MENA Tour after losing his European Tour card, shot a six-under par 66 to lead the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open.
The 26-year-old Swiss pro was even-par for his round after successive bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes.
But Girrbach covered his last 10 holes in six-under par to join Germany’s Max Kramer and Yorkshire’s David Hague at the top of the leaderboard.
Girrbach – who graduated from the European Challenge Tour at the end of 2018 before finishing 229th on last season’s Race to Dubai and losing his card – took nearly three months off from competitive golf to get his game back in shape.
That hiatus included a long trip to South Africa to work with his coach Dougie Wood.
Girrbach said: “I haven’t played a competitive round after missing out at the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School.
“It was a disappointing season and I put in a lot of work in my technique.
“This is the first competing round for me to see where my game is and I am very pleased,” added Girrbach.
“I felt ready after the winter work and I was looking for tournaments to play. With my category on the Challenge Tour, I will only be able to play events from May.
“So, I asked a few friends and they all highly recommended the MENA Tour. I asked for an invite and here I am.
“I made a couple of mistakes towards the end of my front nine and I just tried to be aggressive after that.
“I drove the green on the par-four 10th, and nearly drove the green on the 11th. Those two birdies were a good start to the back nine and I just continued from there.”
Kramer recovers from heart scare
DAVID Hague, who turned pro after MENA Tour Qualifying School and finished runner-up at the NewGiza Open in Cairo, had an even better recovery.
Last year’s Lee Westwood Trophy winner was one-over par after eight holes and then made five birdies and a spectacular holed-out eagle from the fairway bunker on the 17th hole.
However, it was 36-year-old Kramer who had the most remarkable story of the day.
The Dusseldorf-based player was diagnosed with an arrhythmic heart last year and stopped playing after just four events in 2019.
While trying to make a comeback, he was seven-under par through 10 holes with two eagles, before losing steam towards the end of his round.
Kramer was just happy to be back on the golf course after surviving a health scare last year that restricted his schedule to just four tournaments on the EuroPro Tour.
“I had played a few events at the start of 2019, but I wasn’t feeling very good,” said Kraymer.
“I went to the doctor and they found out I had arrhythmia of heart. It was very scary when we found out because this is no age to get a heart condition.
“However, after three months of complete rest, I am much better,” said the German who was part of the national team alongside two-time major champion Martin Kaymer.
“It was an amazing round for me. I was seven-under par through the first 10 holes with an eagle on the third and par-four 10th holes.
“I played the last eight in one-over, but I am so happy with this round. – especially with what happened last year, and also the way I played last week in Oman where I shot an 11-over par round and was hitting the ball over the place.
The consistent Hague was relishing a fast start, having opened with a 72 in finishing second at NewGiza Open and a 69 in tied 10th place at last week’s Ghala Open.
“I drove it really well all day and kept it in play even though I did not start that well,” said the former England amateur international from Malton & Norton Golf Club, near York.
“I made two three-putts from the fringe and was one-over par after eight. I just told myself to remain patient and the birdies would come, and that’s exactly what happened,” added Hague.
“The eagle on 17 was nice towards the end of the round. I hit it into the right bunker and had 142 yards from there. Hit a good shot and it took a couple of bounces and went in.”
Frenchman Antoine Schwartz was alone in fourth place after a 67, while there was a group of six players on 68 – Scotsman Scott Henry, the Irish duo of Paul McBride and Robin Dawson, Sweden’s Mathias Weiderman and the English pair of Tom Combe and Mitch Waite.
Saudi Arabia’s Bahrain-based Saud Al Sharif, a member of Royal Golf Club, was the leading amateur after a one-under par 71.
•To follow live scoring in round two in Bahrain, click here.