Fresh off making his first Challenge Tour cut at the K Club last weekend, Liam Grehan is off to a fast start at the Clutch Pro Tour event at St. Mellion Golf Club in Cornwall, and he lies tied for seventh after day one.
Playing alongside namesake Stuart in the final group off the 10th tee, the K Club man got off to a slow start with a bogey on his opening hole, but a birdie on the par-3 11th and another on the par-5 16th saw him reach the turn at one-under, but the drama would all unfold over the front side.
A bogey on the par-5 second was followed by four birdies over the space of five holes as he got within a shot of the clubhouse target that was set by England’s Daniel Smith in the early wave, but Grehan’s day was somewhat soured by back-to-back bogeys on eight and nine as he slipped back to -2 and into a tie for seventh.
Stuart’s opening nine followed a similar path to Liam’s with a bogey followed by two subsequent birdies as they turned neck and neck, but his front side was much less eventful as he traded a single birdie and single bogey to reach the clubhouse at -1, alongside John Ross Galbraith who made four birdies and three bogeys.
Robert Brazill opened with a one-over 73 to lie in a tie for 27th, one ahead of Rory Williamson and Rowan Lester who shot matching 74s for a T38 position.
On +4, Conor Murtagh is going to have to shoot a round in red figures if he’s to make the 36-hole cut, but Scott Montgomery and Brandon St. John will be playing for pride as they both sit well off the pace after difficult opening rounds.
Smith’s five-under 67 came courtesy of six birdies and a bogey, and he enjoys a one-stroke lead over fellow countrymen Joe Brooks and Corey Sheppard. A further three sit at -3, with Grehan part of an eight-way tie for seventh.