Brazill joint leader in Oman; Irish struggle in Tunisia
Filippo Bergamaschi co-leader after round 1 at the 2025 La Cigale Golf Open by Alps Tour. Photo: Alps Tour Golf / Raffaele Canepa
Robert Brazill opened with an eight-under 63 to grab a share of the lead after the opening round of the Clutch Tour’s La Vie Masters in Oman.
Out in the last group of the day from the 10th, the Naas golfer (28) turned in six-under 30 and birdied the first and second to get to eight-under before following bogeys at the fourth and fifth with birdies at the seventh and ninth.
He shared the lead with England’s Oliver Sullivan, with Mallow’s James Sugrue tied for fourth after a bogey-free 65.
Whitehead’s John-Ross Galbraith was the next best of the Irish after a 67 as Brandon St John shot 69,
Paul McBride shot 72 as Mark Power and Marc Bocher signed for 73s. and Garth McGee shot 76
Irish struggle in Tunisia
Ireland’s challengers got off to a slow start in the first round of the Alps Tour’s La Cigale Golf Open in Tunisia.
Michael Young was the best of the bunch after day one, tied for 35th after carding a one-over 73 at La Cigale Tabarka Golf.
He was fine strokes behind Spain’s Rocco Repetto and Italy’s Filippo Bergamaschi, who carded six-under 65s to lead by two strokes from France’s Tom Gueant.
Castle’s Robert Moran and Galway’s Ronan Mullarney shot three-over 75s to share 58th place.
Moran was two under after eight holes before he made a quadruple bogey eight at the 18th to turn in 38,
He then birdied the third but bogeyed the fourth and made another eight at the par-five sixth before picking up shots at the seventh and ninth.
Mullarney had one birdie, two bogeys, and a double bogey in his 75, while Hugh Foley and John Murphy were 89th after rounds of 77.
Foley made an eagle two, a birdie, two bogeys and three double-bogeys while Murphy made three birdies, four bogeys and two doubles.
Repetto (22) said: "The course was beautiful today. We had a little bit of rain over the first four or five holes, but overall, it was great. The greens were soft and rolling nicely, and my putter was working well for me today, allowing me to hole a lot of putts.
“I also hit a lot of fairways, which helped me keep my round bogey-free and play some really solid golf. I’m excited to get back out there tomorrow and hopefully, the weather stays good for all of us."
Bergamaschi (33) has been playing on the Alps Tour since 2014. His record includes five top-10 finishes on the Alps Tour, a full season on the DP World Tour, and several seasons on the HotelPlanner Tour.
“The course is really beautiful, and you need to play well to achieve a good result because mistakes come at a high cost,” he said. “You really pay dearly for any errors."
