• Lyoness Open

Gee and Lundberg share lead in Austria

ESPN staff
June 5, 2014
Adam Gee made three birdies in his last nine holes © Getty Images
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England's Adam Gee and Sweden's Mikael Lundberg shot five-under 67s to share a one-stroke lead on a windy and cloudy opening day of the Lyoness Open on Thursday.

Starting on the back nine, Gee eagled the par-four 14th hole but bogeyed the 18th before carding three birdies on the front nine.

Gee, who came through November's European Tour Qualifying School to earn a spot in the 2014 Race to Dubai, admitted his relief at avoiding the high winds in the morning, with all of the top five having started in the afternoon.

"When we arrived at the course the wind was blowing pretty hard, which is maybe why a few of the guys struggled a bit more in the morning," Gee told the European Tour's official website.

"I think we definitely got the better half of the draw, which was another bit of fortune that went my way, but I'll certainly take it.

"I've been playing quite nicely lately, there were some good signs last week and I've continued that progress here. There's still a long way to go, but the signs are encouraging."

Lundberg hit six birdies and lost a stroke on the par-three second. The Swede, who also came through Qualifying School for a third straight year, is looking for his first title since winning the Russian Open for a second time in 2008.

"I played pretty solid all day and made a few putts, so it all added up to a pretty good day," said Lundberg.

"Nothing was spectacular today, but everything was pretty solid. I've been working well with my new coach [Neil Jordan], and we've made a lot of progress over the past four weeks.

"My long game is working well, my short game comes and goes so I'm still a little bit inconsistent around the greens, but I'm getting there.

"You have to be very careful out there. The course is very firm, so you have to be very precise off the tee - you don't want to take any unnecessary chances, because you can soon get caught out."

The pair led a group of four which finished at four under, including Wales' Rhys Davies, England's Richard Finch and Matthew Baldwin, and American Berry Henson.

Defending champion Joost Luiten from the Netherlands hit three birdies in his opening four holes. Later, however, he struggled to hit the fairways and dropped to one over before finishing his round level par with his fourth birdie on the 17th.

Miguel Angel Jimenez overcame three bogeys in the first eight holes to card a two-under 70.

Jimenez, 50, who resides in Vienna since marrying an Austrian in May, is seeking his third win of the season. Starting on the back nine, he bogeyed the par-four 11th and 17th and the par-three 14th but recovered with four birdies.

"It's OK, it's under par," Jimenez said. "It's not easy because of the wind."

Former champions Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Kenneth Ferrie of England, and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria each shot a 71.

Lyoness Open leaderboard

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