Antonelli sets a hot pace at Trevose
 The
early bird certainly caught the worm as Frenchman David Antonelli
stole a march on the field in the first round of the Brabazon
Trophy, supported by Approved Golf Properties, at a damp Trevose
in Cornwall.
Antonelli, 22, from St Etienne, (pictured - photo courtesy
of Tom Ward) was off first at 6.30am and shot a course record-equalling
64 with two eagles and four birdies to open a two-stroke lead.
His closest challengers are compatriot Benjamin Hebert, Darren
Walton from Woburn Wiltshire’s Miles Mackman and Steve
Uzzell from Yorkshire, who all went round in six under par
66.
Antonelli was out of his bed at 5am and had time for a ten-minute
jog to loosen up before covering the front nine in 29 strokes.
“I always have a run before playing,” he said.
“But I drove and putted well and only missed a couple
of fairways. Out first, we had superb conditions while the
greens were perfect.”
Antonelli, who didn’t play well enough at home to earn
a place in the French team for last week’s international,
had eagle-fours at the fourth and ninth along with birdies
at the fifth, sixth, seventh and 13th.
Hebert, the European Amateur champion, who did play against
England at Frilford Heath, had an eagle and six birdies in
his 66 but he wasn’t as surprised as Walton with his
score.
“I got a bit lucky,” said Walton with a wry smile.
“That’s my lowest ever round but I putted really
well and that was the key. I only had 24 putts. “I shot
69 yesterday to qualify so this 66 should mean my handicap
will come down so that I can get into other national events.
But I’ve put in a lot of time and effort with my game
and it’s nice that it pays off. But there is a long
way to go.”
It was a great reward for the 24 year old from Newport Pagnall
who failed to qualify last year while it was even better news
for Mackman, who was delighted with his 66 after missing out
for the past two years.
“This was my best Brabazon round because it was my
first in the competition proper as I’d missed by a shot
over the past two years,” said the 22 year old from
Swindon. “But I putted well, holing a lot of 12 foot
putts but I didn’t do so well on the back nine,”
Mackman was out in 31 but dropped shots at the 12th after
finding sand, and the 16th following a poor tee shot.
Uzzell’s performance was especially pleasing. Last
weekend he was forced to pull out of the England vs. France
international with a back injury and he had doubts over taking
part in the Brabazon. But he recovered well and had seven
birdies in his 66.
“I didn’t hit the ball as hard as I normally
do just to be on the safe side,” he said. “But
I started with a birdie and finished with one so it went well.”
Among those on 67 are new England cap Neil Chaudhuri, who
birdied three of the last six holes, and under 16 international
Tom Lewis.
A spate of low scores reflected the calm conditions with
a flurry of sub-70 returns until the weather began to close
in and the scores mounted
The weather, which had been benign during the morning, deteriorated
after lunch and heavy rain forced a 45-minute suspension of
play at 3pm when several greens began flooding. However, conditions
improved along with the scoring but the time lost meant the
round wasn’t completed before dark.
When play was called off for the night, four groups containing
11 players still had to complete their first rounds and resumed
play at 7am this morning.
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