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Sebastien Gros credited the friendly atmosphere in his group for inspiring him and his two playing partners, Haydn Porteous and Simon Thornton, to a combined total of 16 under on the opening morning of the Northern Ireland Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank.
The Frenchman, currently second in the Road to Oman Rankings, shot a five under par round of 66, the same as Irishman Thornton, while South African Porteous was one shot better still and tied for the lead, making the three-ball an aggregate 16 under through round one at Galgorm Castle.
The 25 year old from Lyon has been in sensational form this season, notching a win at his home Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC as well as three other top five finishes, and was happy to take advantage of benign conditions in the early stages of the first round to put himself in contention for another strong finish.
“It does make it easier when your playing partners are also playing well,” he said. “There was a really nice spirit in our game, all three of us were very friendly, and I think it’s more the fact that the two others are so friendly that helps you play well.
“Low scoring is always good but it didn’t really feel like we were going low, it was more the attitude of all three of us that was good and probably helped us all feel more comfortable and play as well as we did.
Conditions were perfect today, compared to yesterday especially. I’m very happy with the weather this morning, now I hope it doesn’t stay like that for the rest of the day!
“I’m delighted with the start I’ve made because this course is not easy so it’s always good to get an under par score.
“You have to drive the ball pretty well around here, and the greens are not very well defended, so if you put yourself in good positions off the tee you won’t have too many long shots in.
“There are a few key holes to get through but the wind was kind this morning, but the key is just to hit the fairways and then scoring can come slightly easier.
“I’m very happy with my season so far. I’ve had a few mistakes in my attitude in the last few weeks, where I’ve had good first rounds but not good finishes because I’ve started going a bit crazy in trying to get under par rounds when I’ve made a fast start.
“Hopefully I won’t make the same mistake this week, just try to focus on the easiest things to do.
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