June 11: American Andy Ogletree (main image), one of the most successful players in The International Series with three titles, signalled a return to form with a storming finish that included an eagle-birdie finish in the opening round of the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco on Thursday.

On the acclaimed par-73 Red Course of Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, the 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Ranking winner opened with a five-under-par 68 and joined Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana at the top of the leaderboard midway through the opening round.

Although the wind kept away from the golf course for much of the morning session, the Red Course proved a tough nut to crack. Germany’s Marc Hammer, who made a double bogey on his final hole, Chinese Taipei’s Chien-yao Hung and Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit were tied third in the clubhouse at 69, with Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma, Thai Itthipat Buranatanyarat and Singapore’s James Leow one shot further adrift at 70.

Among those tied on 71 were Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan, Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig, American John Catlin, the in-form South African Ian Snyman, and the evergreen Australian Matt Jones.

Sadom Kaewkanjana of Thailand. Picture by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.

Ogletree, who won The International Series events in England and Qatar in the 2023 season, started from the 10th tee and made an early bogey on the 11th. By the time he finished 13 holes, he had racked up another bogey, but three birdies helped him rise to one-under par.

The 28-year-old, who was part of Phil Mickelson’s Hy Flyers GC in the 2024 LIV Golf season, then birdied the fifth, eagled the eighth, and closed with another birdie on the par-three ninth hole.

“It was a good day. I did a really good job of staying patient. The golf course was definitely gettable this morning, but it’s still a very difficult course,” said Ogletree.

“When we got to my final two holes, my caddie actually said, ‘Let’s finish eagle-birdie here, keep your head up’.

“On the eighth, I hit it down the fairway but just into the right rough. I had a good lie, though, and managed to get it onto the green. Then I rolled in about a 50- or 60-footer for eagle. On the ninth, I hit another good shot and made birdie. Maybe, my caddie needs to start calling the shots a little earlier.”

After a tough 2025 season, Ogletree said he was happy with the way his form is trending this year.

“Overall, I’m happy with where my game is and the direction my form is trending. I controlled what I could control, and stayed positive throughout the day,” he added.

“Golf is hard, but I don’t feel like I made any major unforced errors out there. This is a golf course where you can get down on yourself pretty quickly if things aren’t going your way, and I didn’t do that today. I will try to keep that same mindset going into tomorrow.”

Marc Hammer of Germany. Picture by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.

The highlight of Sadom’s round was a tap-in eagle on the par-4 17th hole, which was his eighth. It actually had the potential of becoming something even more special, but an albatross was denied after his tee shot on the 287-yard hole hit the flagstick and left him with a two-footer clean-up job.

“I hit a really good drive…a high fade that landed about five or six yards short of the pin. The ball then rolled forward and hit the flagstick, leaving me with a tap-in eagle from about two feet. It was definitely the shot of the day for me,” said the 27-year-old from Bangkok, a multiple champion on the Asian Tour, but searching for his maiden International Series title.

“Everything was really good today, especially my iron play. I think I only missed one or two greens all day, which gave me a lot of birdie opportunities. Overall, everything felt very solid.”

Playing his first full season on the Asian Tour, 27-year-old Hammer was rightly disappointed with the closing double bogey after all the hard work of navigating the previous 17 holes with six birdies.

“Unfortunately, I finished with a nice little double at the end. But overall, the game felt really good. Actually, it’s been feeling good over the last couple of weeks as well. My long game is pretty much on point, which I feel, you need around this course,” said Hammer.

“I hit it well off the tee, hit a lot of good approach shots, gave myself plenty of chances, and holed a couple of putts. So overall, it was solid.

“It’s nice on the Asian Tour. It’s definitely different from playing in Europe, mainly in terms of the courses, but I really enjoy it. I like the travel, I like the culture, and the courses are very good as well, especially on the International Series, the setups are excellent. I’m really enjoying it.”

The International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco is the third leg of the elevated events on the Asian Tour and is being played in Morocco for the fourth time.