Max Kennedy fires 10-under 60 to set blistering pace in Brittany
Max Kennedy planned a dip in the sea to cool off after scorching to a 10-under-par course record 60 to grab the clubhouse lead in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Blot Play9 Golf in Brittany.
The Royal Dublin rookie (23) started birdie-eagle-birdie on the back nine at Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André before adding birdies at the par-three 15th and the par-five 18th to turn in six-under 29.
But that wasn't the end of the fireworks for the University of Louisville graduate who birdied the first and fifth before making his second eagle three of the day at the seventh.
“Yeah, very happy,” said Kennedy, who is 72nd in the Road to Mallorca rankings but can take a massive leap this week in the race for 20 DP World Tour cards.
“Obviously, a very nice round. I didn't miss a whole lot of shots, and it was even nicer to save a good par on the last.
“It would have been nice to give myself a chance on the last for a 59, but still, I’ll take a 60,”
Kennedy led by four strokes in the clubhouse from England’s James Morrison and by five from Norway’s Baard Skogen, while Kilkenny’s Mark Power was joint fourth after a 66.
After making a birdie at the 10th, Kennedy made a 45-footer for eagle at the 11th before following five more birdies with another eagle from 20 feet after a three-wood to the seventh.
While it looked like an attacking round, Kennedy revealed he tried to minimise risk.
“No, no, I never try and attack pins,” said Kennedy, who narrowly missed out on his DP World Tour card at last year’s Q-School.
“I try and play conservative. But sometimes, yeah, you pull or push it into a hole, and you know it's your day
“But if you don't, you still have pretty makeable chances. So I thought I hit it pretty well today. Tee to green, I gave myself a lot of chances, so I was quite happy with that.”
Kennedy arrived in Brittany feeling good about his game after finishing a season’s best tied 11th in the Czech Republic on Sunday.
“Very,” he said. “I had my best finish last week on the on the HotelPlanner Tour in Czech, so my game is definitely going in the right direction, and I'm really comfortable where I'm at.”
The course requires a strategic approach, which Kennedy feels suits his game.
“Yeah, definitely,” said the Dubliner, who has his brother on the bag this week. “You can be aggressive or conservative, and I am more of an aggressive player off the tee. I like to take driver a lot.
“And you know, I drove it extremely well today, so I gave myself a lot of wedges and a lot of chances.”
As for his preparation for round two, he was taking a relaxed approach.
“Me and my brother, who's on the bag this week, are probably going to go and swim in the ocean. It looks pretty good.”
