Conor Purcell’s steady form continued on day one of the Challenge Tour’s Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in Northern France with a four-under opening round to sit inside the top 10.
The Portmarnock man made five birdies and a solitary bogey en route to a 68 that leaves him tied for ninth overnight, three clear of Dermot McElroy who was next best of the six-strong Irish pack at -1.
Cormac Sharvin, making a rare Challenge Tour start shot a round of level par, but Jonathan Caldwell (+2), Gary Hurley (+3) and Ruaidhri McGee (+5) all have considerable work to do if they’re to make the 36-hole cut.
Quim Vidal’s eight under was the best score on day one. The Spaniard, starting from the tenth hole, fired four birdies in a row starting at the 12th to jump into an early lead, and followed a bogey at the 17th with an eagle at 18 to make the turn at five under.
Three more gains on his back nine at the sixth, seventh and eighth took Vidal one shot clear of Frenchman Sébastien Gros in second place at seven under par.
Vidal was delighted with his performance and highlighted a strong day with his putter as the key to his low scoring.
“I played really well today,” he said. “I was nice off the tee and with my irons, but the putting was very, very good.
“I had a lot of 15-footers and missed maybe one out of six. Having those chances is really important – if you don’t hit the greens and make those kinds of putts, it’s tough to score.”
The 24-year-old, who secured his card on the Challenge Tour after finishing second on the Alps Tour Order of Merit last season, entered the week following a pair of missed cuts on the Road to Mallorca but was pleased to see an improvement in his putting stroke in Le Vaudreuil.
“I came here from a couple of bad tournaments, putting my worst,” he said, “but today I putted the best in my life.
“I don’t understand this kind of change from one week to another, but I would love to keep this momentum going on the greens. I know if I keep that it’s going to be a great week.”
Englishman Sam Hutsby shares third place with Dutchman Wil Besseling on six under par, while German Marc Hammer, Spaniard Borja Virto and South Africans Wilco Nienaber and Luke Jerling are a shot further back in fifth.
Six players share seventh at four under par, including Irishman Conor Purcell and Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who sits in pole position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
The second round of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge will get underway at 8:00am local time, with Vidal teeing it up alongside Dane Nicolai Kristensen and Swede Christofer Blomstrand at 2:30pm.