Slovenian cards six birdies and two eagles to take two-shot advantage after day one in Cairo
Slovenia’s Zan Luka Stirn produced a stunning eight-under-par 64 to take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series New Giza at New Giza Golf Club.
Stirn, playing his first tournament since Christmas, carded six birdies and two eagles to set the clubhouse target in the first event of the MENA Golf Tour’s four-tournament Egypt Swing.
Starting on the back nine, the Slovenian made an early charge up the leaderboard with an eagle at the par-five 12th before adding four more birdies to turn in 33. He maintained his momentum on the front nine with another eagle at the par-five third and two more birdies, coming home in a stunning five-under 31 on the Thomson, Perrett & Lobb-designed layout.
“It was just an amazing round,” said Stirn, who has previous MENA Golf Tour experience. “I hit it to about four feet for eagle on the 12th and that sort of got me going. From there I felt really good with my all-around game.
“I made six birdies and two eagles, so I’d rather focus on that. It was just one of those days where you’re in the zone, you make a couple of putts, hit a couple of good shots, you get it going, and everything just flows.”
Malaysia’s Galven Kendall Green and Italy’s Aron Zemmer share second place at six under par. Green enjoyed a memorable day with his 60-year-old father on the bag, while Zemmer recovered from a slow start with an eagle at the third.
“I shot six under today and really enjoyed it out there,” said Green. “I managed to make a few putts, including three birdies in a row, which definitely gave me a confidence booster. Having my 60-year-old dad on the bag made it even better. He’s been caddying for me the last three or four years, so it’s nice to share moments like this.”
A group of seven players sit three shots off the pace at four under, including Scotland’s Will Porter, France’s Mathieu Decottignies-Lafon, and England’s Charlie Crockett and Jordan Wrisdale.
Egyptian amateur Issa Abou El Ela leads the home contingent at one under par, sitting in a share of 21st place.
The Egypt Golf Series New Giza is the first of four consecutive MENA Golf Tour events in Egypt, offering a combined USD $400,000 in prize money and Official World Golf Ranking points.
Round two gets underway at 9.30am tomorrow (Tuesday).
