Kennedy shoots 63 to lead in Croydon - 06/08/2007

Lloyd Kennedy leads the Selsdon Park Masters tournament on the Ivobank PGA EuroPro Tour after a fantastic opening round of 63 in Croydon.

Kennedy (Chelmsford GC, pictured) didn't drop a shot on the par 70 course, picking up his first shots with an eagle at the fifth and going into the back nine at four under. Back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 saw him move to six under and he finished his round off nicely with his fifth birdie of the day at the last.

Dale Marmion (Eaton) looks keen to add to his victory at The Players Club in Bristol with a win in Croydon and he is one shot behind Kennedy after a 64 in the opening round - three birdies on front and back without a dropped shot.

Colin Roope (wstore.co.uk) was playing with Marmion and he shot 65 for the round, finding the back nine to his liking with four birdies there. He is joined by Martin Le Mesurier (Vear Group) who went into the back nine at one under and also managed four birdies down the back to card 65.

A blemish free round of 66 from Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland) included three birdies down the front nine and another down the back at the 12th and he sits alone at four under.

Ryan Thomas' round was identical to Moul's to the 12th but bogeys at 13 and 17 with a birdie at 15 taking the Aberdare Golf Club man to 67. Joining him at three under is Padraig Dooley (Cork GC) thanks to a trio of birdies down the back nine after cancelling out birdies on one and two with bogeys at three and ten. Mark Laskey is also at three under, recovering well from a bogey at the first with two birdies on the front and two on the home stretch.

The second round gets underway at 6.30am tomorrow (Thursday) - live scoring is in operation and can be viewed along with the full scores for the opening round by clicking on Score Updates on the homepage.

Date Posted: 06/08/08, 7pm