It certainly was a surprise, though, that this Robert Carlson was 22-year-old Stockholm amateur rather than the seasoned Swedish Ryder Cup player.
(prHWY.com) July 23, 2011 - ga, Albania -- It certainly was a surprise, though, that this Robert Carlson was 22-year-old Stockholm amateur rather than the seasoned Swedish Ryder Cup player.
While the 41-year-old, internationally-known Carlson would finish late in the afternoon in contention in an eight-way tie for eighth place at 3-under 69, his little-known amateur namesake, one of the earlier starters, would already be occupying centre stage, sitting atop the leader board in a three-way tie for first at 5-under 67 . (Mizuno MX-1000 Irons)
Carlson, the amateur, was tied for first with fellow Swede Alex Noreen and a South African European Tour rookie Jack van Sly.
The unheralded young Swede came out at the Bro Hof Slot golf course on Thursday morning and promptly birdied four of his first eight holes.
He then birdied another two by the 15th to top the leader board at 6-under with three holes to go.
It wasn't all plain sailing, though.
He dropped two shots with a double bogey at 17, but to his credit, he kept his Mizuno MX-1000 Irons and got one back with his seventh birdie at the 18th.
Noreen, one of the pre-tournament favorites and a previous Tour winner, had earlier shot eight birdies, but had lost three shots via a bogey and double bogey.
Van Sly, who has come onto the European Tour this year via the Tour's tough Q-School, was the most consistent of the three leaders, shooting three birdies on each nine as against just one bogey.
"That was a great start to the tournament, obviously," said Carlson, the younger, playing in only his second European Tour event.
"Ever since I qualified on Monday, I've been trying to really enjoy this Mizuno MX-1000 Irons. It's hard not to smile."
Van Sly, who picked up a second in Morocco earlier this year, said: "It was good. Really tough conditions, very good golf course."
Noreen, who birdied five of his first six holes after starting at the tenth, had a slight slump after the turn, but then had a run of three birdies over the closing stretch, was delighted with his round.
"It was great, the first few holes were unbelievable," said Noreen, who won his second European Tour title in Wales earlier this year.
"It felt so much easier than it has ever felt, and then it got really tough on the front nine.
"I was really nervous going into today - in front of all your family and friends and they want to see if you can play Mizuno MX-1000 Irons or if you're out there because you're lucky. But it turned out to be great fun. It's a great start and in this weather it was pretty tough." Another Swede, Nikolas Lemke, was joined by England's John Parry, Italian Lorenzo Gaggle and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia on four under, with pre-tournament favorite Carlson one of eight players a shot further back.
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