PHIL Archer shredded the course record with a sizzling eight-under-par 63 in the first round of the Spirotech Manchester Open at Marriott Worsley Park.
And the Birchwood tournament professional is hoping he can shoot a few more low scores when he returns later this month to the European Tour where he is battling to keep his card.
“It’s great playing with my old pals again,” said Archer who cut his teeth in the PGA North Region. “I did not feel any pressure and when the wind was against early on it was tough but I stayed patient. There’s no reason why I can’t carry that positive attitude into my next event.”
It’s a pity he won’t be able to take with him playing companion David Shacklady, who posted a 65 to share second place.
“We both putted well and fed of each other,” explained Archer, who birdied the last three holes to take his tally to six on the inward half and to nine in total. The most spectacular came at the seventh where he arrowed a seven iron 195 yards out of a bunker to 30 feet then rolled in the putt.
“That was outrageous,” teased Shacklady, the Mossock Hall maestro who conjuring five birdies on the bounce from the ninth. His score was matched by a player on the brink of giving up the game a few months ago.
Simon Robinson was so despondent after losing his Challenge Tour card at the end of last season that he turned to working as a supply teacher to make ends meet. But the PGA threw him a lifeline when he signed up as an assistant professional at Durham club Wynyard.
“It meant I could play in regional events and it’s given me another chance to get my career back on track,” he said after a flawless round. “I can feel my confidence returning but I’ve decided l won’t try for my tour card until everything is in place again.”
Robinson, who won in Finland in 2008 and also claimed three EuroPro Tour victories before his game deserted him, reeled off six birdies and drove the 12th and 17th par fours as he held the clubhouse lead for most of the day.
The 29-year-old former World Boy champion who played for England in his amateur days, added: “Fortunately I have a degree in Sociology from Houston University so I could fall back on teaching in local schools.”
LEADING SCORES (Par = 71): 63 Phil Archer (Birchwood); 65 Simon Robinson (Wynyard), David Shacklady (Mossock Hall); 66 Craig Corrigan (Haigh Hall), Fraser Kelly (Malton & Norton), Chris Sands (Skycaddie); 67 Geoff Harris (Rudding Park), John Wells (Cherry Burton), Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall); 68 Jon Cheetham (Gatley), Martyn Hamer (Ellesmere), Andrew Turner (Knaresborough), Chris Clark (Waterfront Golf), Richard Booth (Hale), Paul Grannell (Vale Royal); 69 Mark Bradley (Chorley), Grant Hamerton (Brookdale), Michael Ramsden (Bondhay), Will Barnes (Garstang), Nick Ludwell (Selby), Nigel Parkinson (Renishaw Park), David Smith (Swinton Park), Gary Brown (Ganton), David Clark (Morpeth).
And the Birchwood tournament professional is hoping he can shoot a few more low scores when he returns later this month to the European Tour where he is battling to keep his card.
“It’s great playing with my old pals again,” said Archer who cut his teeth in the PGA North Region. “I did not feel any pressure and when the wind was against early on it was tough but I stayed patient. There’s no reason why I can’t carry that positive attitude into my next event.”
It’s a pity he won’t be able to take with him playing companion David Shacklady, who posted a 65 to share second place.
“We both putted well and fed of each other,” explained Archer, who birdied the last three holes to take his tally to six on the inward half and to nine in total. The most spectacular came at the seventh where he arrowed a seven iron 195 yards out of a bunker to 30 feet then rolled in the putt.
“That was outrageous,” teased Shacklady, the Mossock Hall maestro who conjuring five birdies on the bounce from the ninth. His score was matched by a player on the brink of giving up the game a few months ago.
Simon Robinson was so despondent after losing his Challenge Tour card at the end of last season that he turned to working as a supply teacher to make ends meet. But the PGA threw him a lifeline when he signed up as an assistant professional at Durham club Wynyard.
“It meant I could play in regional events and it’s given me another chance to get my career back on track,” he said after a flawless round. “I can feel my confidence returning but I’ve decided l won’t try for my tour card until everything is in place again.”
Robinson, who won in Finland in 2008 and also claimed three EuroPro Tour victories before his game deserted him, reeled off six birdies and drove the 12th and 17th par fours as he held the clubhouse lead for most of the day.
The 29-year-old former World Boy champion who played for England in his amateur days, added: “Fortunately I have a degree in Sociology from Houston University so I could fall back on teaching in local schools.”
LEADING SCORES (Par = 71): 63 Phil Archer (Birchwood); 65 Simon Robinson (Wynyard), David Shacklady (Mossock Hall); 66 Craig Corrigan (Haigh Hall), Fraser Kelly (Malton & Norton), Chris Sands (Skycaddie); 67 Geoff Harris (Rudding Park), John Wells (Cherry Burton), Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall); 68 Jon Cheetham (Gatley), Martyn Hamer (Ellesmere), Andrew Turner (Knaresborough), Chris Clark (Waterfront Golf), Richard Booth (Hale), Paul Grannell (Vale Royal); 69 Mark Bradley (Chorley), Grant Hamerton (Brookdale), Michael Ramsden (Bondhay), Will Barnes (Garstang), Nick Ludwell (Selby), Nigel Parkinson (Renishaw Park), David Smith (Swinton Park), Gary Brown (Ganton), David Clark (Morpeth).
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