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Record in Rio Lonard cards first-round 62 at Itanhanga
Posted: Thursday March 23, 2000 09:25 PM
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Australia's Peter Lonard fired a course record 10-under-par 62 to head the 145 man field after Thursday's first round of the $650,000 Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open. The Australian packed two eagles and six birdies into his round, trimming four strokes off the Itanhanga course record set by Vicente Fernandez when he fired 66 in 1984 Brazilian open. Lonard, the first round leader in the Qatar Masters two weeks ago, was surprised with his own performance. "It was the best of my life. I've played since I was 13 years old, and I didn't expect much because the course is unknown and difficult and the greens are small," he said. "It requires a lot of concentration and control to get a good result." Scottish rookie Alastair Forsyth looked like he ready to draw even with Lonard after he birdied the 17th to move to nine under, but the club slipped from his hands on the 18th tee and he ran up a double bogey. Even with the error, Forsyth managed to finish together with Switzrland's Paolo Quirici and Englishman Philip Golding, all tying for second place with 7-under-par 65s -- also breaking the course record. Sweden's Mathias Gronberg and Argentina's Jose Coceres both tied the course record firing 66. The Rio 500 Years Open marks the first time the PGA's European tour has traveled to South America and it is the first of two tournaments that will take place in Brazil over the next two weeks. There are three more rounds terminating on Sunday. Only 70 players will continue after Friday's round. The tournament then moves to Sao Paulo.
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