Jonathan Caldwell carded six birdies and an eagle on his way to an opening seven-under 65 to sit just one off the lead in the Second Stage Qualifier at Desert Springs Golf Club, but 10 of the 11 Irish are within three shots of the provisional qualifying marks after day one at their respective qualifiers.
The Clandeboye man is one of four Irish competing in Almeria, with Liam Nolan, Paul Dunne and Niall Kearney also in attendance. Caldwell’s tally places him in solo second, with Nolan who made five birdies and an eagle tied for 10th at -5.
There are 22 places up for grabs in Desert Springs, and Dunne currently lies tied for 23rd on -3, one shot ahead of Kearney who is tied for 33rd at -2.
At Isla Canela, close to the Portuguese border, Max Kennedy and Mark Power are tied for 13th after matching rounds of two-under. Kennedy made it to -3 after 10 holes, but three bogeys in the following four holes threatened to derail the round but he bounced back with an eagle on 15 and parred his way home thereafter. Power’s day was a little less up and down as he made just the one bogey with three birdies thrown in.
Paul McBride is just one shot behind the duo, but at tied for 30th, he’s outside the 23 places that will advance to Final Stage from Isla Canela. Cormac Sharvin has a further two strokes to gain after an opening 73 that leaves him in 51st place at +1.
Ronan Mullarney is all alone at Golf Las Pinaillas in Albacete, and he traded four birdies with four bogeys on his way to a level-par 71 that leaves him tied for 40th, two shots shy of the 23rd-place finish he requires, while Rowan Lester and David Kitt who are competing at Fontanals Golf Club in Girona also have work to do if they’re to advance.
Lester is in 50th place and three-shots off the mark after a level-par opener, while amateur Kitt was left to rue a poor finish to his opening round that included two bogeys and a double bogey in his final six holes and he sits tied for 63rd at +2.