John Gough carded a bogey-free round of 63 to hold a one-stroke lead after day one of the Blot Play9 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André.
The Englishman, taking advantage of the early conditions on the northwest coast of France, got off to a hot start, opening his round with back-to-back birdies before going on to make a further five gains, including three in a row after the turn.
“It was nice,” he said. “It’s not often that four is your highest score and I’ve been struggling on the par fives recently, so having two of them and taking advantage of them definitely helped.”
“I got off to a hot start which was nice. I lipped out on three, so I feel like my scoring could have been a bit better, but you take what you can get.”
The 27-year-old birdied five of his opening twelve holes to keep the momentum going and praised his playing partners, Wouter de Vries and Maxime Legros, who carded rounds of 64 and 67 respectively.
“The group did well,” he added. “Wouter and Maxime also played really well, so that helped to push me along.
“I had two nice saves on 17 and 14 which kept the momentum going.
“I’m very pleased to get in on day one and post a good number. Obviously, there’s a long way to go and the course is already getting fiery, and it will be quite fun over the next few days.”
Gough will be looking for another good result at Blot Play9, after impressing at the 2025 edition where he finished just two shots behind eventual winner James Morrison in fourth place.
“I had a nice run here last year so I kind of know what to expect come the weekend, so I’m looking forward to it.
“There wasn’t too much wind out there – we definitely got the nicer side of the draw here, although the wind may not pick up as much as expected this afternoon.
“It was nice to get out early, especially with how hot it is too.”
Spanish pair Joseba Torres and Pablo Ereno are a shot off the pace alongside De Vries and Tom Gueant, while German Marc Hammer sits in outright sixth at five under par.
The second round of the Blot Play9 gets under way at 7:40am on Friday, with Gough, De Vries and Legros teeing off at 1:50pm.
