By Matt Smith
It was a case of home comforts for Joost Luiten as he delighted the fans at the 2022 Dutch Open — finishing day one with a one-stroke lead as he goes for his third win at his home tournament.

The 36-year-old Dutchman, who previously won this event in 2013 and 2016, shot a seven-under par 65 at Bernardus Golf-— with eight birdies against a solitary bogey — to take the outright lead ahead of early starters Englishman Eddie Pepperell and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.

Meanwhile, Pepperell revealed some words of wisdom from his partner Jen were behind his decision not to play a practice round ahead of the tournament and the strategy paid off as the Englishman shot 66 to finish in a share of second place alongside Hojgaard.

The 31-year-old has performed well in the Netherlands with four top 10s to his name and was pleasantly surprised with his game and the golf course.

Victor Perez, Andrea Pavan, Mikko Korhonen and Marcel Schneider finished in a tie for fourth on five under

“It could have been better, but you know, I won’t be too picky,” said Luiten. “I have been struggling a bit with my game, so it was great to see the score today and for some reason I just love playing in front of the home crowd. I got off to a fast start and I kept it going, seven-under is a good day in these conditions.

“I think for me because there is so much going on around you, I need to get into my own little bubble and just do my thing, and for some reason when there is a lot more people than I am used to I’m better at it, or it makes you go into that place. So that is the place I am trying to find every day but obviously you have to pretend like the crowd is there all the time and it’s hard, but I have been able to do it today so hopefully we keep it going.”

Pepperell added: “Last year I was trying hard, I was turning up to tournaments early, working a lot harder than I historically did and I was getting home knackered, and Jen was like, ‘What are you doing? You used to play Majors blind, when you were doing well you wouldn’t bother with practice rounds’, and I think she has got a point.

“I always focused on energy levels, short games, trying to at least feel comfortable with where my game is actually at. I could play my home golf course and swinging it the way I have been the last couple years, and not make a cut out here, so the truth is you have got to have your skill set and I am just prioritising that and I think things are moving in the right direction.

“I’m trying to get back what I had, that is the most frustrating part. It is venturing into the unknown which can be enjoyable but when you are trying to get something back, it is infuriating because you know you can do it and your body is not responding and that is where I have been at.”

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