May17 Irish Open round one

Brit Simon Dyson and Swede Peter Hanson mastered the tough Adare Manor course to hold the early lead in the first round of the Irish Open today.

The pair defied tight fairways and clinging rough to produce a pair of 68s, one shot clear of James Kingston in third and England’s Simon Wakefield on fourth.
 
“This is almost like a Major Championship set-up, like a US Open course, and that’s the sort of mental approach you have to take,” Hanson said. “But it fits my game really, really well. My strength is my long game.

“It was all about staying away from the rough and avoiding double-bogeys.”

While Hanson avoided dropping a shot, Kingston, following in the vein of Open de Espana winner Charl Schwartzel, Telecom Italia Open long-time front-runner Andrew McLardy and last week’s leader in Andalucia, Louis Oosthuizen in putting South Africa to the fore, made four bogeys.

An outstanding birdie-count, though, helped him track Hanson.

One of Kingston’s birdies came at the short 11th, where the tee was brought forward 54 yards to reduce its difficulty.

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