01치열한 시드권 경쟁 속 선두 나선 고프
DP월드투어 시드권이 걸린 퀄리파잉 스쿨(Q스쿨) 파이널 스테이지에서 고프가 대회 초반 선두로 치고 나갔다.
치열한 경쟁이 펼쳐지는 파이널 스테이지 경기에서 고프는 안정적인 경기 운용을 바탕으로 타수를 줄이며 순위표 최상단을 차지했다.
다음 시즌 투어 카드를 획득하기 위한 선수들의 접전이 이어지는 가운데, 초반 기선 제압에 성공한 고프가 남은 라운드에서도 기세를 이어갈 수 있을지 주목된다.
02Original (English) — DP World Tour
Alex Goff leads by one after the opening round of DP World Tour Final Stage Qualifying School thanks to a red-hot start to the week at INFINITUM.
The left-handed American carded nine birdies without a blemish to sign for a nine under par 62 on the Lakes Course and sit one clear of his compatriots, Jhared Hack and Christian Banke.
Goff, who teed it up in last week’s Grand Final on the HotelPlanner Tour, was happy with the control he had over his game in the first of six rounds at Final Qualifying.
“I hit it where I was looking, and just kind of kept it in front of me,” he said. “The greens are soft, so the tough holes, I just tried to hit it to the fat side of the green and move on.
“I rolled in a couple of putts and felt very in control of my game today, which was nice.
“There was definitely some hype around last week in Mallorca, but kind of the position I was in, it was pretty low key for me, because I know I had to do something special to get my card. I've just been looking forward to this week.”
Goff made a quick start in Thursday's opening round with four front nine birdies helping him turn in 31 strokes.
The 26-year-old added his fifth gain of the day on the tenth before rattling off four birdies in his closing six holes to set the early pace.
Goff is guaranteed of full playing privileges on the HotelPlanner Tour for the 2027 season after ending the campaign inside the Road to Mallorca’s top 45. And the American, who also entered PGA Tour Q School last month, is feeling relaxed as he looks to improve his current category.
“It's been a long year,” he added. “I’ve played a lot of golf and it's all kind of a blur at this point. There’s a lot of golf ahead, five more rounds, so I'm just trying to not get ahead of myself and just keep doing what I'm doing.
“It's nice knowing that I have somewhere to play next year, which is good. I was at this Q School last year, and I did not have that feeling. It's definitely a little less pressure. I can kind of go kind of how I was last week.
“I can just go out and send it and see what happens, just because I have nothing to lose. I'm playing for the top 15, and that's really about it.”
Hack, another who’d made the short trip from Club de Golf Alcanada to Salou, also impressed on day one on the Lakes Course, with five back nine birdies vaulting the Las Vegas native to eight under par.
The well-travelled American is looking to play with freedom in the knowledge that his HotelPlanner Tour playing privileges are locked up for the 2027 campaign after reaching the Grand Final earlier this month.
“I stuck to a good process today,” he said. “I mean, my goals this week have been to just really stay present. It's going to be a long week.
“There's probably 30 of us here that are, it's kind of boom or bust, which feels like a sense of freedom.
"We know what we have to do. I did a good job committing to my shots today and kind of keeping to my goals.”
Banke, also on the lower-scoring Lakes, endured an up-and-down opening round in Tarragona, with an early double bogey on the par three fourth halting his progress. He recovered well, however, coming home in 31 strokes to join Hack on eight under.
England’s Jack Senior, Belgian Thomas Pieters and Frenchman Julien Brun, who posted the low round of the day on the Hills Course, share fourth place on seven under par.
The second round of DP World Tour Final Stage Qualifying School gets under way at 9:00am local time with Goff teeing off alongside Swede Oliver Gillberg and South African Bryce Easton on the Hills Course at 10:50am.