After the first day of the Bahrain Championship, South Africa’s Xander Lombard trailed leader Tom Vaillant by one stroke.
The Frenchman didn’t hit a shot until the sixth hole at Royal Golf Club, but then he stepped up a gear and birdied eight of the final 13 holes to move to eight under with a bogey-free 64.
This puts him ahead of Lombard and Switzerland’s Joel Gerbach by one stroke, ahead of South African Okie Strydom, Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Spaniard Alejandro Del Rey and Dane Sebastian Friedrich. He beat Sen by two strokes.
Vaillant has rapidly risen to prominence in recent years, and in 2022, as an amateur, he won back-to-back Alps Tour titles and was promoted to the European Challenge Tour.
In his rookie season, he finished 12th at the Road to Mallorca, securing two second-place finishes and earning his first DP World Tour appearance.
He had already shown he could compete on tour by scoring a final 64 in an invitational match at last season’s Magical Kenya Open, but after missing the cut in quick succession in the UAE, he matched that score this time and took the lead. Ta.
“I just tried to hit as many greens as possible and play solid all day and putt with great speed. It would be great to make some putts,” he said.
“I don’t know how I progressed so quickly, but I just do my best at what I do and do my best every day.
“I’m in this position because I’m working the right way and just trying to keep moving forward and doing the same thing every day.
“It doesn’t matter today. I’m just trying to make everything great and we’ll see where that puts me at the end of the week, but obviously I’m going to try to make it work. I am working hard and I am ready to face everything.”
Vaillon got off to a steady start, making smart approaches on the sixth and eighth holes and two-putt birdie on the par-5 ninth to turn for 33.
Then, after driving on the par-4 10th, he had 9 feet left for eagle, but had to settle for a birdie, extended two more putts on the par-5 13th, and left just 5 feet on the 15th. .
He hit a 38-foot shot on No. 17 to share the lead and took the lead on his own with a great approach to the end.
.@ZanderLombard Throw a dart when you are 6 under with 6 games remaining 🎯#BahrainGolfChampions pic.twitter.com/ljcbPHJ3nU
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 1, 2024
Lombard has two top-10 finishes, but he hasn’t finished outside the top 25 in six games this season, continuing his good form despite starting with a bogey.
He rallied with four birdies before the turn, nearly holed out for eagle on the sixth, then made four straight birdies from the ninth and nearly had an ace on the 12th.
After that, he improved to 7 under with a final birdie and was tied with Gilbach.
The Challenge Tour graduate started at No. 10 and was 4 under after five shots, dropping a shot on No. 16 but fighting back with gains on Nos. 17, 3, 5 and 6.
Del Rey hit a 66 on No. 10 for eagle from 6 feet, but Friedrichsen dropped one stroke and Cockerill and Strydom each made two bogeys.
England’s Marcus Armitage, Sweden’s Jens Duntorp, South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli and Dane Rasmus Hegaard and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson were on five under.
Armitage holed a wedge from 131 yards on the 12th hole for his eighth hole-in-one of the season. He then didn’t have to wait long for the ninth as China’s Chen Guxin needed one shot with a 3-iron from 196 yards. Second.
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images