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Birdie run propels Schott and Del Rey to lead at DP World Tour’s Bahrain Championship
Duo shoot 65s to top the leaderboard as defending champion Laurie Canter sits just behind in a thrilling opening round at Royal Golf Club
- PUBLISHED: Thu 29 Jan 2026, 9:11 PM
- By:
- Khaleej Times Staff
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Freddy Schott and Alejandro Del Rey opened their Bahrain Championship in style, each recording a 65 to tie atop the leaderboard after the first round at Royal Golf Club.
Spaniard Del Rey has yet to miss a cut on what is his fifth start of the 2026 DP World Tour campaign, and he continued his rich vein of form in the third event of the International Swing.
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Del Rey, who earlier this week celebrated the one-year anniversary of his maiden title at this level at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, set the initial clubhouse target thanks to five birdies on the front nine and two more on his way home.
"It was nice, a quick start. I took advantage of the morning, as it was a little bit calmer with the wind. I'm very happy with the round," said Del Rey.
“I really enjoy this first Swing here in the desert. I've always enjoyed it. I've had my highs and my lows, but I've always felt very comfortable out here, and the course suits me well. I really enjoy my time here in January, especially."
He was later joined by Germany's Schott, who ended his roller-coaster round with a closing birdie-eagle to share the lead at seven under, ahead of a logjammed leaderboard which saw 28 players sit within four shots.
Schott, starting on the back nine, had powered his way into the chasing pack following an outrageous start of six birdies from his opening seven holes.
The 24-year-old slipped back with a double bogey at the first before bouncing back with a birdie at the fourth. He dropped another shot at the seventh, but holed putts from 17 and 13 feet at the eighth and ninth, respectively, for a birdie-eagle finish and a share of the lead.
"It was really good, especially the start. It started off well and finished well, so I'm very pleased," said Schott. "I just tried to stay focused. We were still up there, so I just tried to pull it together again and hit my comfortable shots. “
Defending champion Laurie Canter reinforced his love of desert golf, carding a 66. He offset a bogey on the seventh with a birdie on the ninth, the Englishman's 18th hole, to finish in a share for third.
"Obviously, I think going out and shooting six-under in the first round was great,” said Canter. “This golf course is always the same. You play on the flat card, and then you see birdie chances, and then the wind gets up, and everybody's trying to tackle how it plays. I dug in there to finish and then a nice birdie on nine, my 18," said Canter.
He was joined by New Zealand's Daniel Hillier, Sweden's Niklas Lemke, Germany's Nicolai Von Dellingshausen and India's Shubhankar Sharma at six-under par. Meanwhile, last week's winner, Patrick Reed, finished further back in the field after battling the wind with an opening round 71.
"It's a frustrating day, going out there and only shooting one-under par, especially when I felt like I hit the ball pretty well. This golf course, when it gets windy, it gets tricky," said Reed.
"With everything that has transpired over the past 48 hours, and really even since Sunday and last week, it's something that I felt like, with my family and I, was the best decision for me.
“I am really excited to be out here to play on the DP World Tour like always, and really excited to get back to the PGA Tour and start playing close to home,” he added. “I'm just really grateful and thankful to have the opportunity to play everywhere around the world as I have. Now we're starting a new chapter, and I can't wait for it to get really rolling."
Ten players will return to finish their first round on Friday morning at 07:15 local time after play was suspended due to darkness at 17:25.