Paul McBride is just one shot off the lead after the opening round of DP World Tour Q-School First Stage Qualifying at Donnington Grove Golf Club in Southern England.
In total, 10 Irish made the trip to Newbury in Berkshire, each hoping to book safe passage through to October’s Second Stage in Spain, and it was Dubliner McBride who showed up best on day one with a five-under 67 leaving him in third place overall after the first day of action, thanks to a five-birdie, zero-bogey performance and he’s just one shot off the early lead.
Niall Kearney, who’s enjoyed a rich vein of form at home that’s seen him capture the Irish PGA Championship at Palmerstown House Estate and the PGA Open Series event at Belvoir Park, was the last of the Irish to start his opening round and he made six birdies but threw in four bogeys to card a two-under 70 and sit tied for 17th.
Robert Brazill and Jonathan Yates are also in red figures after rounds of 71, and they currently straddle the likely cut off point with approximately 25 cards on offer – this number will be confirmed prior to the 36-hole cut.
John Murphy, Marc Boucher and Tom Dowdall all shot rounds of +1 and are on course to see action in rounds three and four, but Robert Moran at +2, and Stuart Grehan and Kevin Phelan at +3 all have work to do to put themselves in position for a push up the leaderboard in the latter rounds.
German Tim Tillmanns and Venezuelan Jorge Garcia share the first round lead at -6, with McBride part of a five-strong chasing pack all hoping to have stress-free weeks by remaining close to the top of the leaderboard.