Macau Open
Macau Golf Club
Macau
30th April - 3rd May 1998

First Round Report

First Round Scores

Four share first round lead with Faldo two shots behind

Macau, 30th April 1998 -  America's Eric Rustand took full advantage of his length off the tee today by firing a two under par 69 for a share of the lead after the rain-affected first round of the Omega Tour's US$200,000 Macau Open.

Rustand, arguably the longest hitter on the Asian PGA's Omega Tour, carded five birdies and three bogeys over the narrow Macau G.C. links, and shares top spot with Taiwan's Lu Wen-teh, Satoshi Oide of Japan and Sweden's Bjorn Flygare.

With the rain forcing an hours delay in the afternoon session, 18 players failed to complete their rounds, although celebrity imports Nick Faldo of England and Vijay Singh of Fiji did manage to get through 18 holes. However, they failed to impress in the difficult windy conditions, firing 72 and 73 respectively.

"I suppose I played what one would describe as a 'cautiously aggressive' round today," said joint-leader Rustand, who picked up strokes on three of the four par fives.

"When I could, I used my driver to get as close to the greens as possible. But on some of the holes I decided to leave my driver in the bag because if you miss the fairway you can get into real trouble - the rough is so brutal.

"My son Austin was born four months ago and I think this has helped with my course management - I'm a little bit more conservative in my approach now that I have him to support."

Rustand, who started his account on the 10th, toured the back nine with a one over par 37, but made amends on the front half with consecutive birdies on the second, third and fourth for an inward 32.

"It was pretty tough out there, while 16, 17 and 18 are probably three of the most difficult closing holes I've played in Asia," added Rustand, who did well to save par on the 16th before dropping shots at the 17th and 18th.

Faldo, who made headlines two weeks ago after carding a disastrous 12 over par 83 in the US PGA's MCI Classic, showed few signs of rediscovering the form that won him six majors. Renowned for his perfectionist's approach to the game, he toured the front nine one over before coming home with a level par 35.

"I could have been three or four shots better today, but I didn't help myself by missing a number of good birdie chances," said 40-year-old Faldo after carding three bogeys and one eagle, which came on the 502-yard second.

"The wind made it difficult today, especially on the back nine as it was always changing direction. I can't be satisfied with a round that doesn't include any birdies."

Unlike Faldo, Singh tried to concentrate on the more positive aspects of his round, and gave credence to the tough conditions and challenging layout.

"I played pretty decent today but unfortunately I had three bad holes," said the Fijian. "The weather made it very difficult, and the course is also very tough – if you make any mistakes it can really punish you."

Singh fired three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey when he found the 'jungle' on the par 4 eighth.