Canada’s Richard Lee top packed leaderboard after competitive opening round at Surrey’s Foxhills Longross Golf Course
By Nick Tarratt, Khaleej Times Guest Golf Writer
Dubai-born Rayhan Thomas expressed frustration with his approach to the greens after carding a two-over-par 73 in the first round of the Asian Tour’s $2 million International Series England at Foxhills in Surrey, near London.
Despite the challenging round, Rayhan remains focused on improving his performance in the subsequent rounds at Longcross, which he described as a ‘fun golf course’.
“I hit it very poorly into the greens today,” said the 24-year-. “My approach play was not good enough. I did not make enough birdies. I drove it well, and my putting was fine – I did not hit it close enough.
“For tomorrow’s second round preparation, I will hit some balls. I am not too worried. I like the golf course,” he said. “The wind will likely pick up in the afternoon, and I should not be too far off at the end of the day.
“Tomorrow is another day. It is a fun golf course with plenty of birdies if you play well.”
Meanwhile, Canadian Richard Lee made a strong impression with a near flawless seven-under 64 to top the 156-strong field with Taiwan’s Chan Shih-chang, England’s Richard Bland, Australia’s Aaron Wilkin, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert just two strokes behind at five-under 66.
Fresh off an impressive tied 8th place finish in last month’s Asian Tour International Series event in Morocco, Rayhan is playing this week on a special invite from the Asian Tour.
He teed off from the 10th hole and made an immediate impact with a well-struck birdie. However, his momentum wavered as he reached the turn at level par 36, with another birdie offset by two bogeys.
On his back nine, covering holes 1 through 9, Rayhan remained comparably steady, recording seven pars and two bogeys. His performance was solid statistically, hitting 9 out of 14 fairways and reaching 13 greens in regulation. However, he may have left some strokes on the greens, needing 33 putts to complete his round.
Dubai-based Anirban Lahiri from India shot a one-over 72 in this is the fourth of 10 International Series events of the 2024 season on the Asian Tour.
Rayhan tees off in his second round on Friday from the first tee at 11.30 am.