The world No. 454, who earned his DP World Tour card through the Challenge Tour last season, hit eight birdies at Royal Golf Club to lead by one stroke over South Africa’s Xander Lombard and Switzerland’s Joel Garback.
Rasmus Hugaard, who was the pre-tournament favorite to win, made an eagle on the ninth final hole and finished with a 5-under 67, level with Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and England’s Marcus Armitage, who had a hole-in-one on the 12th.
“I tried to hit as many greens as possible, play solid all day and putt with great speed. It would be great if I could make a few putts,” Vaillon said in his first two starts of the tournament. I missed the cut. Season, I said.
“It’s going to blow really hard tomorrow and over the weekend, so the greens aren’t going to be that fast. They’ve tried to make the greens as good as possible, but it’s not easy. There’s holes in the grass, and I’m just feeling good about the holes.” I’m trying to put it in.
“I’m fighting as hard as I can. I like when the conditions are really tough. I just feel like my game is suited for it. I’m fighting for every shot.”
“It doesn’t matter today. I’m just trying to make everything great and that’s where I’ll see myself at the weekend, but obviously I’m working towards that and I’m ready to face everything. is completed.”
Huygaard finished 11th, 11th and second in his first three tournaments in 2024, but revealed he had been battling illness until he was 67 years old.
“There’s a huge lack of energy,” he said. “I was trying to find a restroom location on the course and make sure it was somewhere I could go.
“Sometimes you have to deal with it and we did a good job of that today.”
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