Robert TheodorsonAshun Wu is the Omega European Masters round one leader after a bogey-free 63 at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, a seven-under opening round that put him one stroke clear of a five-man group including defending champion Thriston Lawrence.
For a player who had spent seven weeks away from competition trying to make sense of his swing, the timing was rather neat.
Wu turns a quiet start into a flawless 63
The 41-year-old five-time DP World Tour winner began by taking a shot from the par-four second, then accelerated before the turn. Three more birdies sent him out in 31, giving him the sort of uncomplicated scorecard every golfer claims to prefer and very few manage to produce.
There was no retreat on the back nine. A birdie at the par-three 13th began another productive stretch, with two further gains completing a seven-under round without a bogey.
It was Wu’s lowest DP World Tour round in almost four years and his best score since the opening round of the 2022 Open de España presented by Madrid. This is his sixth appearance at the Omega European Masters, so the setting is hardly unfamiliar. The sharper point is that his game had not felt quite so settled a week earlier.
Wu said: “I had seven weeks off, I didn’t play the first two events of the summertime, and I was working with my swing, with my coach in the US.
We were working pretty hard, but when I come back to England to play last week at the Belfry, it seems it doesn’t work good. Maybe it was in the rain. But this week, I feel a lot better with my swing, and yeah, I am just looking forward to play another couple of rounds.”
The evidence from Thursday was difficult to quarrel with.
Lawrence starts fast, then has to be patient
Lawrence provided the most obvious threat from the afternoon groups. The South African, a two-time champion at Crans-Montana after winning by two strokes last year, made six birdies in his opening nine holes and briefly looked capable of turning the first round into a personal property dispute.
The back nine was less generous. Lawrence played it in level par, including an out-of-bounds mistake at the 14th, but a 64 left him exactly where a defending champion would like to be after one round: close enough to matter, without having to explain an early mess.
“Obviously, on paper (it was a tale of two nines), no reds on the back nine, but you know what? A first-round 64, I would have taken that before the round, whether that’s two under and three under, two under and four under, three under and three under, or six under and level, it’s fine. It’s a pity about the OB on 14, but, it’s going to happen. You’re going to give some to the course, and then you’re going to get some. So, very happy.”
There is also a sentimental layer to Lawrence’s week. His name now sits among the reminders of past champions in Crans-Montana, a detail he clearly values. Sentiment, of course, is not known for making many putts.
Ayora joins a five-way tie for second
Ángel Ayora also reached six under after a strong finish. The Spaniard, who has made recent swing adjustments, birdied the seventh and ninth before finding another gear on the back nine. A birdie at the 13th started a run of four gains in five holes.
He joined Lawrence, England’s Todd Clements, Germany’s Nicolai Von Dellingshausen and India’s Shubhankar Sharma on 64.
That leaves Wu with a lead, but very little breathing room. One shot separates first from a substantial queue, which is less a cushion than a polite suggestion.
Hall and Yule lead the next wave at five under
The leaderboard remains compact behind the group in second. English pair Harry Hall and Jack Yule finished at five under alongside Sweden’s Niklas Lemke, Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra and Germany’s Jeremy Paul.
With so many players within two shots of the lead, Friday is likely to be less about protecting position than continuing to make birdies. Crans-sur-Sierre has already produced enough low scoring to make caution a dubious luxury.
Wu has the lead, not the luxury of comfort
The most encouraging part of Wu’s 63 was not simply the number. It was the absence of waste. Seven birdies, no bogeys and a round that gathered pace rather than surviving it suggest the swing work has travelled better to Switzerland than it did to the Belfry.
One round cannot settle much at the Omega European Masters, particularly with Lawrence and four others a shot behind. But after seven weeks spent working, adjusting and waiting for something to click, Wu has at least earned the best view of the leaderboard.
In the Alps, the scenery is famously generous. The margin at the top is not.
