Marcel Schneider stormed to the top of the Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand leaderboard after making a spectacular hole-out eagle in his first-round 63.
German Schneider started from the 10th tee on Thursday afternoon and reeled off five birdies on his front nine to join countryman and early clubhouse leader Nicolai von Dellingshausen at the summit on five under par.
The 35-year-old then holed his approach shot from the fairway at the 2nd for a remarkable eagle, using the backstop to the right of the hole brilliantly, to hit the front on his own.
And although he dropped his first shot of the day at the 6th, he got it back with a close-range birdie on the 9th to lead by two shots on seven under.
Von Dellingshausen and Nicolas Colsaerts were Schneider’s nearest challengers on five under, one ahead of Aaron Cockerill, Daniel Hillier, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Edoardo Molinari in a tie for fourth.
South Africans Jayden Schaper and Brandon Stone both carded 67 to share eighth with 11 other players.
Schneider made early back-to-back birdies after following up his close-range effort on the 11th with a 15-footer at the 12th.
He then repeated the trick at the 15th and 16th before closing his front nine with his fifth gain of the day on the 18th.
Things got even better for Schneider at the par-four 2nd when he made an eagle with his 60-degree wedge to jump to seven under and open up a two-shot lead.
He opened the door for the chasing pack with a bogey on the 6th but was never caught at the top, and finished his round with a birdie to return to seven under.
“I started quite well, obviously. I was in control – on the greens, off the greens, long shots off the tee. So overall I’m actually super happy,” Schneider said.
“Because coming into the week I didn’t feel too great, to be honest. But yeah, I managed well, hit good shots and I hope to ride that wave.
“On the back nine which I played first, I just hit solid shots and gave myself a lot of opportunities. I wasn’t in trouble once so I think that’s the key for shooting low.
“At the 2nd hole, off the tee I thought I was a touch left but it ended up in the fairway and then it was a perfect yardage for my 60-degree wedge.
“Lucky enough it finished in the hole.”
Photo: Luke Walker/Getty Images
