Summary Englishman Ben Evans takes lead after the opening round at the Dutch Open on Thursday.
SPIJK (AFP) - Englishman Ben Evans holds the lead at the Dutch Open after a six-under-par opening round of 65 put him a shot clear of the chasing pack at Spijk on Thursday.
The 29-year-old, ranked 524th in the world, started his round on the back nine of the inland links course and sank seven birdies in all, including four in a row from the 12th.
A bogey at the 17th proved to be the only blemish of his day in the Netherlands and he finished with five successive pars to ensure he will be the man to catch in the second round.
"I holed a lot of putts early on in the round to get me to two under and then hit a few nice wedges in close to get off to a pretty fast start. The putting was the difference today -- I holed a lot of mid-range putts, which I haven t been doing a lot of lately," said Evans, who admits he needs a good performance to help him keep his Tour card.
Evans leads from a group of eight players who shot 66, including South Korea s An Byeong-Hun and Sweden s Peter Hanson.
The duo were playing partners and they put on a masterclass on the sixth as both men put their approaches on the par five inside 10 feet to record eagles. They both also recorded six birdies and three bogeys.
Australia s Scott Hend, who lost the European Masters in a play-off to Sweden s Alex Noren at Crans-sur-Sierre last weekend, is in a group two shots behind the leader after an opening 67.
