HONG KONG - Rafa Cabrera Bello fired a stunning eagle at his final hole for a flawless six-under-par 64 to take a one shot lead after the opening round of the Hong Kong Open at Fanling Thursday.
The Spaniard had already picked up four birdies when he lined up his approach shot at the par-four 10th, firing the ball a foot past the pin and watching as it spun back into the hole.
The 32-year-old launched his club into the air in celebration of a round that gave him the lead ahead of Frenchman Sebastien Gros, who was second after carding a five-birdie 65.
“That was really nice, I had perfect distance and I was surprised to see it go in,” Cabrera Bello said. “I have never really finished a round like that. I played really smart today, made very few mistakes, I hit pretty much every green, I putted really well, so it was a nice walk out there.”
Ten players shared third place at the European Tour co-sanctioned event after shooting 66s.
US Masters champion Danny Willett shot a 68, while his fellow Englishman Justin Rose, the defending champion and Rio Olympic gold medalist, bogeyed the last for a level par 70.
Another Englishman, former world No. 5 Ian Poulter, also dropped a shot at the last to finish with a 68, fuming at the “mental errors” that cost him the three bogeys on his card.
Ko parts ways with coach
World No. 1 Lydia Ko, who clinched the most recent of her 14 LPGA titles in July before enduring the first barren spell of her young but already stellar career, has split from her coach David Leadbetter after three years working together.
Ko and Leadbetter joined forces shortly after she turned professional in late 2013, with the then 16-year-old leaving her New Zealand-based coach Guy Wilson after 11 years in tandem. Leadbetter, who announced the split on his website, later told New Zealand media the decision had been a “surprise” but it had come from Ko and he felt her family had been a major factor in the thinking.
“We have had a pretty good relationship but it is not easy coaching three people at once,” Leadbetter told New Zealand’s Radio Sport, while adding he felt the 19-year-old was under immense pressure. - Agencies
