“I think there’s going to be a lot of good scoring opportunities.”
That’s exactly what happened Thursday as nearly a quarter of the scores recorded for the day were birdie or eagle. In the first round, 11 of the hole locations were within five paces of an edge.
Thursday’s softer conditions will continue again on Friday as another half-an-inch of rain fell overnight (play was delayed late Thursday with the threat of lightning and there were slight downpours). It’s the fourth day in the last week that’s seen some rain, although the course seems to have dried out well and the greens continue to roll smoothly.
With players potentially taking a more aggressive approach, given that only the top-three positions on the leaderboard are all that matters, Haigh said that doesn’t factor into the setup in any way.
“That’s more about how the players approach it, not how we set it up,” he said. “That should make it fun to watch, and I think we should have a lot of players in contention, hopefully playing well, making birdies. That’s better, especially for the crowd, than watching a bunch of guys grinding away with pars.”
Haigh does not expect Le Golf National to get firm the rest of the week, either, with relatively light winds at best in the forecast. But there are likely no more showers.
“We want it to be a fair challenge, a good challenge and a strong challenge, and good shots are rewarded and in these conditions they will be,” he said.
In early scoring, three of the first seven holes are playing over par.
