Ex-European Tour player Joel Girrbach has spent three months away from the game, working with his South African coach, before firing a 66 to lead the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open

SWITZERLAND’S Joel Girrbach, playing his first competitive round in three months on the MENA Tour after losing his European Tour card, shot a six-under par 66 to lead the Royal Golf Club Bahrain Open.

The 26-year-old Swiss pro was even-par for his round after successive bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes.

But Girrbach covered his last 10 holes in six-under par to join Germany’s Max Kramer and Yorkshire’s David Hague at the top of the leaderboard.

Girrbach – who graduated from the European Challenge Tour at the end of 2018 before finishing 229^th on last season’s Race to Dubai and losing his card – took nearly three months off from competitive golf to get his game back in shape.

That hiatus included a long trip to South Africa to work with his coach Dougie Wood.

Girrbach said: “I haven’t played a competitive round after missing out at the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School.

“It was a disappointing season and I put in a lot of work in my technique.

“This is the first competing round for me to see where my game is and I am very pleased,” added Girrbach.

“I felt ready after the winter work and I was looking for tournaments to play. With my category on the Challenge Tour, I will only be able to play events from May.

“So, I asked a few friends and they all highly recommended the MENA Tour. I asked for an invite and here I am.

“I made a couple of mistakes towards the end of my front nine and I just tried to be aggressive after that.

“I drove the green on the par-four 10^th, and nearly drove the green on the 11^th. Those two birdies were a good start to the back nine and I just continued from there.”

Germany’s Max Kramer had to stop playing after being diagonosed with an arrhythmic heart beat last season, which restricted him to just four tournaments on the EuroPro Tour

Kramer recovers from heart scare

DAVID Hague, who turned pro after MENA Tour Qualifying School and finished runner-up at the NewGiza Open in Cairo, had an even better recovery.

Last year’s Lee Westwood Trophy winner was one-over par after eight holes and then made five birdies and a spectacular holed-out eagle from the fairway bunker on the 17^th hole.

However, it was 36-year-old Kramer who had the most remarkable story of the day.

The Dusseldorf-based player was diagnosed with an arrhythmic heart last year and stopped playing after just four events in 2019.

While trying to make a comeback, he was seven-under par through 10 holes with two eagles, before losing steam towards the end of his round.

Kramer was just happy to be back on the golf course after surviving a health scare last year that restricted his schedule to just four tournaments on the EuroPro Tour.

“I had played a few events at the start of 2019, but I wasn’t feeling very good,” said Kraymer.

“I went to the doctor and they found out I had arrhythmia of heart. It was very scary when we found out because this is no age to get a heart condition.

“However, after three months of complete rest, I am much better,” said the German who was part of the national team alongside two-time major champion Martin Kaymer.

“It was an amazing round for me. I was seven-under par through the first 10 holes with an eagle on the third and par-four 10^th holes.

“I played the last eight in one-over, but I am so happy with this round. – especially with what happened last year, and also the way I played last week in Oman where I shot an 11-over par round and was hitting the ball over the place.

The consistent Hague was relishing a fast start, having opened with a 72 in finishing second at NewGiza Open and a 69 in tied 10^th place at last week’s Ghala Open.

“I drove it really well all day and kept it in play even though I did not start that well,” said the former England amateur international from Malton & Norton Golf Club, near York.

“I made two three-putts from the fringe and was one-over par after eight. I just told myself to remain patient and the birdies would come, and that’s exactly what happened,” added Hague.

“The eagle on 17 was nice towards the end of the round. I hit it into the right bunker and had 142 yards from there. Hit a good shot and it took a couple of bounces and went in.”

Frenchman Antoine Schwartz was alone in fourth place after a 67, while there was a group of six players on 68 – Scotsman Scott Henry, the Irish duo of Paul McBride and Robin Dawson, Sweden’s Mathias Weiderman and the English pair of Tom Combe and Mitch Waite.

Saudi Arabia’s Bahrain-based Saud Al Sharif, a member of Royal Golf Club, was the leading amateur after a one-under par 71.

•To follow live scoring in round two in Bahrain, click here.

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