Gary Hurley and Ruaidhri McGee shot rounds of five- and four-under respectively to both push their way into the top five after day one at the Challenge de Cadiz at Iberostar Real Golf Novo Sancti Petri in Andalucía.
Waterford man Hurley was among the early starters and made hay on his opening nine to birdie four of the first eight and move to -4 overall. A bogey on nine halted the momentum, somewhat, but he responded with three more on the back side, dropping one more along the way to card a five-under 67 that was good for a two-way tie for third.
McGee, who is making just his second Challenge Tour start of 2024, was in the afternoon wave but made light of both the tougher afternoon conditions and his relatively undercooked playing schedule to reel off birdies on four, six, 11, 13 and 14 to join Hurley before an untimely bogey at the last saw him slip one back into a 10-way tie for fifth.
Jonathan Caldwell got off to the perfect start with birdies on both his opening holes – 10 and 11 – but after giving one back on 17, he’d reel off 10 straight pars to card a one-under 71, while Conor Purcell’s sixth and seventh holes, going triple bogey-bogey, did the damage though he’d scrap his way back to level-par and give himself a good shot at making the 36-hole cut.
Dermot McElroy on +1 and Ronan Mullarney on +2 both have a chance but will likely need rounds of at least two- and three-under respectively, while John Murphy (+4) and Rob Moran (+8) have probably left themselves too much to do.
James Nicholas posted a sensational eight under par round of 64 to secure a two-shot lead after day one.
The American, starting from the tenth hole, birdied four of his first five holes to race into the early lead, before three consecutive pars and a bogey at the 18th meant he made the turn at three under.
Five more gains on his back nine, including back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth, put him two clear of Frenchman Clément Berardo in second place on six under par.
Nicholas has played predominantly on the DP World Tour this season after earning his card through Qualifying School, and he arrived in Cádiz in a buoyant mood following a tied 25th place finish at the European Open in Hamburg last week.
“It was a solid day from start to finish,” he said. “I got off to a good start and I told myself to be aggressive this week and just go for it. I went for pretty much every pin today and if I hit a great shot it ended up in a birdie and if I didn’t, I would just figure something out around the greens.
“I was in Germany last week and had a good finish on the DP World Tour which has gave me a lot of confidence ahead of the Challenge Tour event this week. I’m just pleased to be playing out here and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
The Challenge Tour visits Ireland from August 1st – 4th at the K Club and CLICK HERE to secure your free tickets to the event where a host of Irish players including Conor Purcell, Mark Power, Ronan Mullarney and many more will be in action.