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Michael Hoey finished two under par after a round of 70 at the M2M Russian Open at Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club near Moscow, and finished a shot ahead of fellow Ulsterman Gareth Shaw, Waterville's David Higgins, with Rathmire's Alan Dunbar on three over.
Damien McGrane carded a seven-over-par 12 on the par-five eighth on his way to an eight over round of 80 and faces a tough second rounf on Friday to get inside the cut.
Simon Dyson produced a bogey-free round to sit among three players tied for the lead on the opening day with a five-under-par 67 that included five birdies, putting him at the head of the field alongside Swede Rikard Karlberg and China’s Liang Wen-chong.
Friday's round continues a return to form for Dyson, who made just seven cuts in his first 15 events of 2013 but then finished fifth in the Alstom Open de France and tied 12th in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on his last two appearances to climb to 81st in the Race to Dubai.
“That was as good as I have played for a long, long time,” Dyson told europeantour.com. “I missed one fairway and that was by a yard and then just hit so many quality iron shots. It was coming straight out of the middle of the clubface all day and when you are hitting it like that then you just have to enjoy and try to take as many chances as you can.
“I don’t want to say I am disappointed with five under because you can never be too disappointed with that, but it could have been a lot better because I missed a few real good birdie chances and left a few shots out there today. But, as I said, I am not going to get too down on myself because I played so well out there today and I just can’t wait to get back out there now because I am feeling good.”
Karlberg overcame a slow start to post the best round of the morning starters, bogeying the first two holes before atoning with five birdies as well as a pitch-in eagle at the long eighth, and Liang carded six birdies against a solitary bogey.
Dyson’s compatriots Matthew Baldwin and James Morrison, Javier Colomo of Spain and Italian Alessandro Tadini all went round in 68 to lie one off the lead. Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden, who shot 77, managed a hole in one on the 220-yard 16th.
