Less than a week after his best friend won a title on the MENA Tour by Arena, Frenchman Antoine Schwartz held the lead after the opening round of the $75,000 Ghala Open on Monday.

The 30-year-old from Suresnes, near Paris, posted a bogey-free six-under-par 66 and was leading by one shot over a bunch of exciting young talent at five-under-par 67. That cosmopolitan group included two Open Championship Silver medallists – England’s Alfie Plant and Scotland’s Sam Locke – Russian amateur Ivan Striganov, American Kevin Rhoderick, Ireland’s Paul McBride and England’s Jake Ayres.

Schwartz’s best friend Sebastien Gros, winner of last week’s NEWGIZA Open in Cairo and a former European Tour star, shot a four-under par 68 and was tied eighth along with six other players.

At Ghala Golf Club, Schwartz started the day on the 10th tee and picked up shots on the 15th, 18th and second holes before making an eagle on the par-5 fourth, where he stiffed a three-iron second shot from 258 yards to four feet. He then made another gain on the seventh hole.

“It was a very good round. I hit the ball solid and even though I missed a few other birdie chances, you cannot be disappointed with a 66. There are always going to be a few putts that you are going to miss,” said Schwartz, who had shot a 10-under 62 on the MENA Tour last year in Dubai Hills.

“Sebastien is my best friend and it is always good to see your best friend do well. We both have the same status on the Challenge Tour and we will not get many starts before May. So we got talking and I told him that instead of staying in France, he needed to try the MENA Tour because it is an amazing Tour with very good weather, very good golf courses and very good competition.

“So, he came and won in his second event! I am waiting for my share of the prize money!!”

Plant, the Low Amateur of the 2017 Open Championship and Locke, the Low Amateur of the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie, were paired together and took different routes to their 67.

Plant’s round included a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 eighth hole before he had a sizzling back nine of 30. Locke was bogey-free after saving a courageous par on the final hole where he drove it into the wispy bushes, then chipped out backwards and made his up-and-down with a putt from 12 feet.

“I played very steady today and was bogey-free. Managed to save a good par in the end, which is always nice. Just need to get my wedges closer tomorrow and it can be even better,” said Locke.

Plant added: “My day was all right. Had a triple in there, which is always nice to see! But I bounced back well from that and had a chance to shoot 29 on the back nine but missed a short putt on the last.”

Striganov, a 16-year-old from Moscow, was delighted with his round that included two bogeys and was his second-best round in a competition.

“I shot a seven-under par in Portugal recently. But this was very nice because I made seven birdies and did not make too many mistakes and played really well,” said Striganov.

Dubai-based 15-year-old Josh Hill, the reigning Amateur Journey to Jordan champion, shot an even-par 72 after hitting his first tee shot out of bounds. Professional Journey to Jordan champion, MG Keyser of South Africa, started his campaign in Ghala with a two-under par 70.

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The 29-year-old Frenchman eventually settled for a 62 at Dubai Hills Golf Club and a five-shot lead over England’s Benjamin David, Scot Craig Ross and Dutchman Pierre Junior Verlaar heading into Wednesday’s second round.

Schwartz also has a share of two records to cling on to as others need to make big moves on moving day; his 10-under-par effort matched the developmental tour’s lowest round in relation to par, a mark he now owns with South Africa’s MG Keyser and Dubai amateur Rayhan Thomas who both shot 61s at the 2017 Dubai Creek Open. His five-shot buffer also matched the circuit’s largest 18-hole lead, equalling the advantage Zane Scotland enjoyed at the 2013 Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Open, a tournament the Englishman went on to win for the third of his record 10 MENA Tour wins.

The story behind this sensational card by Antoine Schwartz…https://t.co/DEt9L2fLNp pic.twitter.com/uldjoCBheW

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 5, 2019

Schwartz, who topped the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit in 2016 and qualified for the European Challenge Tour last year, was two-under par after four holes with birdies on the 1st and 3rd, before unleashing a flurry of stunning shots over the next eight holes.

He birdied seven of them and eagled the 11th before cooling down. A bogey on par-4 16th, where he hit a wedge shot from the middle of the fairway into the greenside bunker and failed to make his up-and-down was his only mistake of the day. The 10-under par 62 round was his best as a professional, bettering an eight-under-par 62 four years ago in Austria.

“It was just an unbelievable day. I hit so many good shots today. Everything was just perfect,” said Schwartz, playing his first season on the MENA Tour.

“Of course, you are thinking about a 59. The last five-six holes here are tough, and even more in the windy conditions that we faced almost throughout the day. I just tried to stay aggressive and I even gave myself a couple of chances, but it was not to be. I’d love to shoot 62 every day, but this one was very special because the golf course wasn’t playing easy because of the wind.”

Schwartz hit 16 greens in regulation and needed just 24 putts to finish his round.

“I was doing everything well, but I think the key was that I did not miss a single putt from inside four meters (12 feet),” said Schwartz.

“I spoke to my coach, Guillaume Biaugeaud, last night and I told him that I felt I was getting too technical over my putts. He told me to just concentrate on the speed and hit my putt and not to think about the line. It worked.”

BITE-SIZE INTERVIEW
(With Antoine Schwartz)

After getting to 11-under par through 12 holes on a tough scoring day at @DubaiHillsGolf, Schwartz had 59 on his mind before finishing on 10-under 62 in Troon Series – Dubai Open presented by @T_A_Golf#HBFS #JourneyToJordan@troonint pic.twitter.com/44KWUOzYx5

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) March 5, 2019

Seven players were tied for fifth at four-under-par after 68s. That group included Scotland, Journey to Jordan money-list leader Matthew Baldwin and fellow Englishman Luke Joy who was forced out of last week’s tournament at Ghala Golf Club after a suspected case of food poisoning.

England’s Jack Floydd was the best of the 11 amateurs in the 120-strong field with a two-under-par 70, followed by his compatriots Curtis Knipes and Ben Davies (both 71).

The winner this week earns an invite to the European Challenge Tour’s Slovakia Challenge (July 4-7).

Dubai Open – Leading 1st Round Scores (par-72)
62 – Antoine Schwartz (FRA)
67 – Benjamin David (ENG), Craig Ross (SCO), Pierre Junior Verlaar (NED)
68 – Peter Stojanovski (MAC), Zane Scotland (ENG), Luke Joy (ENG), MG Keyser (RSA), Scott Henry (SCO), Jake Ayres (ENG), Matthew Baldwin (ENG)|
69 – Tom Shadbolt (ENG), Todd Clements (ENG), Karl Abledinger (AUT), Stefan Still (GER), Alasdair Plumb (SCO), Sam Hobday (ENG), Victor Riu (FRA)
70 – Ryan Evans (ENG), Steve Webster (ENG), Conor O’Neil (SCO), Clemens Prader (AUT), Jake Shepherd (ENG), Jack Floydd (Am-ENG), Adam Sagar (ENG), Jack Doherty (SCO), Mathias Weiderman (SWE), Seve Benson (ENG), Rocco Sanjust (ITA)
71 – Max Smith (ENG), Robert Harrhy (ENG), Richard Bland (ENG), Leo Lilja (ESP), Lucas Norman (SWE), Daniel Owen (ENG), Robin Roussel (FRA), Ben Davies (AM-ENG), Leonhard Asti (AUT), Constantin Schwiertz (GER), Kyson Lloyd (ENG), Lionel Weber (FRA), Curtis Knipes (AM-ENG)
72 – Joshua Greenville-Wood (ENG), Jose Rolz (GUA), Mark James (ENG), Tim Gornik (SLO), Robert Dinwiddie (ENG), James Allan (ENG), Aaron Leitmannstetter (GER), Jack McDonald (SCO), Maarten Bosch (NED), Erik Jonasson (SWE), Gabriel Axell (SWE), Oliver Ross (AM-ENG), Joshua White (ENG), Lindsay Renolds (CAN), Christopher Mivis (BEL), William Nygard (SWE), Daniel Gaunt (AUS).

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