Climbing early and steady at De Wilmereux

Graham began the day on De Wilmereux with a bit of a wobble on the first hole—scoring just a single Stableford point on a par 5—but quickly righted the ship. The immediate bounce-back on the shortish par 4 2nd hole, collecting a full 3 points, lifted Graham from third to first place, proving a promising start was well within reach. De Wilmereux presented 18 holes of varied challenge, and Graham's five stableford scores of three or more reflected a well-fought round.

Birdies in disguise and hedging the harder holes

The middle section was peppered with reliable pars transformed into excellent net scores thanks to Graham’s handy stroke allowance. Holes 11 through 14, typically a pivotal stretch, yielded a tidy 12 Stableford points from five holes, with net birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th standing out. Particularly on the fly, Graham’s approach showed that even on one of the hardest indexed holes (14), playing to net birdie can seriously shape a round.

Yet, not all went swimmingly. The mid-to-late game contained a few setbacks, with notably challenging holes 15 and 16 casting a shadow. The double bogey at the tough stroke index 2 hole 15 and a 3-over-par 8 on hole 16 cost valuable points, one of which resulted in a Cold Zero Stableford mark. The 16th demanded a test of character, but the joy of the bounce-back at the following par 4 17th, with 2 Stableford points, underlined Graham’s fighting spirit.