Bendigo’s Lucas Herbert and Andrew Martin were among the first in the field to tee off at the 2019 Vic Open.
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Despite a foggy start to the day which resulted in tee time delays, both Herbert and Martin’s plan was clear.
They are there to win.
Herbert, who was playing the Creek Course, carded one bogey and four birdies on the front, followed by two birdies and an eagle on the back to finish round one at seven-under par.
Herbert was content with his round, but knew there was always room for improvement.
“I definitely left a few out there for sure,” Herbert said.
“But then again you’ve sort of got to take the good with the bad.
“On five I hit a putt I thought was missing and completely misread, goes straight into the middle of the hole.
“Little things like that go your way and then sometimes they don’t. So all in all pretty happy out there, seven under. It’s definitely not going backwards.”
Herbert praised the “relaxed vibe” of the tournament, which allowed spectators to get up close to the players.
“It’s sort of one of those events that you’ve got to kind of come down here and experience other than watching from home,” he said.
“Hopefully more people come out for the weekend and can see that for themselves.”
Herbert will tee off with Andrew “Beef” Johnston and Ryo Ishikawa at 12:40pm for the second round.
Martin, who was playing the Creek Course, carded four birdies on the front, followed by one birdie and one bogey to finish at four-under par.
“Got off to a good start, there were some good shots and putts,” Martin said.
“I hit the ball okay and it probably could’ve been five birdies in a row...a few putts just didn’t drop for me.
“It’s a good atmosphere down at the Vic Open and always plenty of people out there watching.”
Martin will tee off with Andrew Evans and Jazz Janewattananond at 1:30pm.
Meanwhile, Australian James Nitties equaled the world record for carding nine consecutive birdies in a tournament round.
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