Skopovy Shines in Bulgarian Sun3 min read

PGA of Czech Republic Professional Petr Skopovy got his 2013 UniCredit PGA Professional Championship of Europe week underway in style carding a four-under par 68 in Round 1 of the tournament.

 Skopovy’s steady round at Pravets Golf & Spa Resort in Bulgaria included 7 pars and 2 birdies on the front-nine and only one blemish bogey on the 14^th, and has edged the Professional ahead by one shot going into Round 2.

“I played really well, I haven’t played like this for a long time so I really enjoyed it…it was a very good day,” said Skopovy of his performance. “The course is beautiful, it’s my first time here and I really enjoyed it. If you hit a good shot you get rewarded, if you mess up a little bit then you still always have a chance to get back. I’ll see how it goes tomorrow – it can go either way so it could surprise me.

 “It means a lot to me to represent the PGA of Czech Republic out here – it’s a very nice thing when you have the chance to represent your country and it means that you are doing well at what you do.“

 Three players are tied for second place – Andrew Hastie (PGA of Holland), Marin Stahan (PGA of Croatia) and Brian Lee (PGA of Wales) all carded three-under par 69s in temperatures of 27-degrees.

 “I played very nicely, dove the ball well and putted quite well as well,” said Australian-born, Hastie. “I’m enjoying the course, it’s especially a good driving test so if you get the ball away well off the tee then it makes things a bit easier, but the greens are quick ands sloping so you still have to be careful.”

 Wales’ Brian Lee added: “I was looking for anything under par today – it’s a tough golf course, it’s setup well and the greens are quick. I tried to play cagey and keep it on the short stuff and at least try and control the ball into the greens as it’s extremely firm…overall I’m very happy.”

 Four players are tied for fifth place on two-under par, whilst over half of the field remain only five shots back from the lead with another three rounds to play.

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 For more information about the Confederation of Professional Golf, visit the Tournament Hub Page (http://eur.pe/17vapHk), follow @PGAsofEurope and search #PassportToPravets (http://eur.pe/1e6YQex) on Twitter, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

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 Notes to Editors:

 Confederation of Professional Golf

 The Confederation of Professional Golf is an Association of 38 National PGAs (31 European and 7 international) with a collective membership in excess of 21,000 golf professionals.

 Our core mission is to represent, promote and provide advice to develop professional golf and ensure that the administration of the professional game throughout the continent delivers excellence in the services provided to ensure highly qualified, highly skilled PGA Professionals who lead the advancement of the game. [cpg.golf]

 Pravets Golf Club

 Pravets Golf Club, in the magnificent Golf & Spa Resort, easily accessible from Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, hosts the third PGA Professional Championship of Europe in 2013 after a hugely-successful re-launch of the Confederation of Professional Golf’s 72-hole individual strokeplay championship in 2011. The resort features a four-star Riu hotel with restaurants, superb spa and fully equipped fitness centre and all-round sporting facilities including the superbly designed Peter Harradine-designed course, partly lakeside and with the spectacular backdrop of the Stara Planina mountains. [www.pravets-golfclub.com]

 UniCredit

 UniCredit is a leading European commercial bank with an international network spanning 50 markets, with more than 9,200 branches and over 150,000 employees. The Group operates in 20 European countries.

UniCredit benefits from a strong European identity, extensive international presence and broad customer base.

Its strategic position in Western and Eastern Europe gives the group one of the region’s highest market shares. [www.UniCredit.com]