Julien Guerrier put on an absolute clinic during the opening round of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, firing a career-best 10 under par 62 at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande.
The Frenchman made it look easy, stringing together five straight birdies from the second hole and picking up more at the eighth and ninth to close out the front nine with a scorching 29.
And he wasn’t done—Guerrier tacked on three more birdies on the back nine, at the 10th, 11th, and 15th, despite dealing with gusty conditions. His bogey-free round put him one shot clear of England’s Daniel Brown.
Julien Guerrier: I had the feeling I was playing the PlayStation on the front nine. It was very nice but we know golf, we know we have to stay in the present.
Of course, it was really nice but I try to stay focused because we know with this wind that anything can happen.
When you’re playing like that and everything goes your way, you feel like you can make everything, and it was a great feeling.
The front nine was not easy because the wind was blowing and it’s tighter. It was so nice to play this kind of game.
It looks easy from the outside but it’s very tough to stay in the present because you are enjoying yourself out there. Sometimes the emotion is too high, and you need to calm yourself down a little bit.”
Brown, not to be outdone, carded a flawless 63, featuring two eagles and five birdies, putting the pressure on the field early.
Sitting in third, Spain’s own Jorge Campillo gave the home crowd something to cheer about with a bogey-free 64, while American Johannes Veerman is lurking just behind with a 65.
Denmark’s Niklas Nørgaard and France’s Romain Langasque sit tied for fifth, both posting six-under rounds of 66, while fellow Frenchman Ugo Coussaud stole some of the spotlight with a stunning hole-in-one at the par-three eighth. Coussaud’s ace, struck with a six iron from 175 yards, helped him finish the day at two under.
It was a day of impressive scoring, and with the tournament just getting started, expect more fireworks at Sotogrande.
