Brandon Stone overcame two bogeys on Thursday in the opening round of the Challenge Tour’s UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi to card a four-under-par 68.
That put him in a share of second, one shot behind the led which was held by Ivan Cantero Gutierrez of Spain. Stone shared second with Conor Purcel of the Republic of Ireland, Daniel Young of Scotland and Maximilian Rottluff of Germany. They were in turn a shot clear of nine players on three-under in a share of sixth.
Keenan Davidse opened well with a two-under-par 70 for a share of 15th, while Wilco Nienaber, Jaco Prinsloo and Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Follett-Smith were on one-under in a share of 27th.
Luke Jerling was on one-over, Ruan Conradie on two-over, Dylan Mostert on five-over, Casey Jarvis on six-over, Tristen Strydom and JJ Senekal on nine-over and Haydn Porteous on 12-over down in a share 153rd in the 156-man field.
