Soudal Open - Day One Digest

Zander Lombard led the way on day one of the Soudal Open, Eddie Pepperell marked his 300th DP World Tour appearance with a hole‑in‑one, Jacob Skov Olesen found positives in an unexpected place, and a host of standout shots shaped the opening day in Antwerp.

Here's everything you need to know from Thursday’s play at Rinkven International Golf Club.

Lombard leads the way

Zander Lombard needed just 21 putts as he took advantage of calm early conditions with a red hot putter to post an eight‑under‑par 63 and take a one‑shot lead into the second round of the Soudal Open at Rinkven International Golf Club.

A fast start to his opening nine saw him sink multiple long putts to go out in 30, picking up two more at the 11th and 13th before bouncing back from his only dropped shot of the day at 15 with back-to-back birdies from the 16th. Lombard said the strong finish was important for carrying momentum into Friday.

“Especially going into tomorrow," said. "I talk about a lot with my caddie, it's just keeping that momentum and I've just lacked momentum the last couple of tournaments, sort of play well for two out of the four rounds and, it's gonna be nice to, to build on this for the week."

300 and a hole in one!

Eddie Pepperell celebrated his 300th career start on the DP World Tour with a hole in one at the 15th at Rinkven International Golf Club.

Speaking ahead of the week, Pepperell had said he'd been doing some good things with his swing, and on Thursday he proved it!

New irons, bad range session and a 64

While new irons in the bag this week and a shaky morning might have dampened others' spirits, it proved to be fuel for Jacob Skov Olesen, who turned a frustrating morning on the range into his his second‑lowest round of the season.

"I had a terrible range session, which usually is a pretty good sign, actually," he said. "I couldn't find the centre of the face on the range this morning so I figured then that'll be good. I usually play quite well when I hit it terrible on the range.

"I got new irons in the bag, loving them. just seeing a bit more of what I want."

Sterne's confidence comes through with 64

Richard Sterne, who has missed his last three cuts in a row on the DP World Tour, was pleased to see hard work paying off as he found some confidence in his game with a bogey-free 64.

Having opened with a birdie, he picked up shots at four and five before a run of three birdies from the tenth and a final birdie at the par five 17th.

"It’s about time I did something half decent in a round of golf," he said afterwards.

"I’m pretty pleased. I've been working hard and it’s nice to see some progress. It gives me confidence, for sure. I started feeling, the last two days, that I was hitting the ball a lot better, and seeing what I wanted to see, so it gave me a bit of confidence, and that came through today. There’s three days to go, it’s a long way to go. I just want to get myself into contention again, and feel that I'm able to hit the shots I want to, which is something that's been lacking for some time now. So hopefully, I'm on the right path."

Hole out eagle for Couvra

Speaing of finding form, it was only a few minutes after Pepperell that Martin Couvra produced some magic of his own.

Out of the trees

As for the rest of the best shots, there were plenty of players in the trees during the opening round of the Soudal Open, but also plenty of brilliant escapes.

Red hot putters

And last but not least, some brilliant highlights on the greens