Justin Rose leads Indonesian Masters after stunning 62
Tuesday 19 December 2017 10:17, UK
Justin Rose made a "dream start" to the Indonesian Masters as he opened with a flawless 10-under 62 to earn a two-shot lead in Jakarta.
Rose put himself on course for a third win since the end of October with his 10-birdie round, taking advantage of near-perfect scoring conditions at the Royal Jakarta Golf Club with 60 players in the field breaking par on day one.
The world No 6 missed out on posting an official course record as preferred lies were in place due to the soft, damp conditions, but he was understandably delighted with his performance on his first visit to the country.
Rose started with a birdie at the 10th and closed out a back-nine 31 with four birdies in five holes before keeping his momentum flowing on the outward half with three consecutive gains from the second.
The Olympic champion picked up further shots at the sixth and ninth holes to move two clear of Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul, with Phachara Khongwatmai and Giwhan Kim one stroke further adrift.
"That is a dream start," Rose told the Asian Tour afterwards. "I birdied the first hole and I felt comfortable from the outset. I did all the right things, I put the ball in play from the tee and obviously with ball in hand and placing the ball on the fairway, you had a perfect lie for every shot providing you put the ball in the fairway.
"This course was there for the taking. Obviously there was no wind and we had perfect golf conditions. The fairways are soft and are playing wide and generous and the greens aren't too soft but they are rolling really true. They perfect for going low but we will see what the weekend brings.
"It's a great start but I am trying not to get ahead of myself. I think the key this week is recovery. It is hot, soft under foot and it is a long walk out there so I am going to be focusing on recovery. I'll try and find an ice bath somewhere and jump in that!"
Rose's playing partner Gavin Green, who has already wrapped up the Asian Tour Order of Merit title, fired a disappointing two-under 70 while American Ryder Cup star Brandt Snedeker struggled to a 72.
Live European Tour Golf
