Aaron Rai Rai is among the leaders in Saudi Arabia
Aaron Rai got himself off to a flying start in Saudi Arabia to sit two shots off the lead of golf’s Saudi International.
He followed a third-hole bogey with five birdies across the rest of his round to post a four-under-par 66, putting him in contention with the front-runners.
The Wolverhampton ace – raised in Perton – is in illustrious company, with US Open 2010 winner Graeme McDowell tied for the lead with Malaysia’s Gavin Green.
Henrik Stenson, who won The Open n 2016, is among three players on five-under – while Rai is tied for sixth with five other players, including five-time Major winner Phil Mickleson.
Staffordshire’s Robert Rock is among a host of players who shot an opening round of one over par – one behind world No.1 Brooks Koepka.
The European Tour event – which offers overall prize money of more than £2.6million – takes place at Royal Greens in King Abdullah Economic City.
Mickleson and Koepka were among the players criticised for taking part in the build-up to the event because of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy rejected the chance to play in the event, while Amnesty International this week released a statement, which read: “It’s yet another attempt to use the glamour and prestige of top-tier sport as a PR tool to distract from Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record.”
