Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Alastair Forsyth, pictured, spearheaded a Tartan Army of 10 with a five-under-par
round of 65 over the shorter Tour Course when the European Tour Final
Qualifying School's six-round tournament began at PGA Catalunya Golf Resort near Girona in North-east Spain today (Sunday).
Only the top 25 and ties at the end of the pressure-packed, stamina-sapping golfing marathon will gain playing rights on the lucrative European Tour next season.
Andrew McArthur, with a 66, and George Murray, a 67, both on the Tour Course, also made the good start essential to have any chance of qualifying from a field of 156.
But, at the other end of the scoreboard, former PGA champion Scott Drummond and Raymond Russell, who had played so well in his Stage 2 event a few days ago in Spain, have dimmed their prospects with rounds of 75 and 76, respectively, both scores on the longer, par-72 Stadium Course.
Forsyth had seven birdies, including three 2s in halves of 33-32. He did bogey the third and fifth after starting birdie-birdie but covered his remaining holes in five under par.
McArthur also shrugged off an early bogey to be four under par for his last 14 holes, finishing strongly for a 66 with birdies at the short 16th and long 18th.
Murray's 67 also included just one bogey and he covered his last 13
holes with two birdies and 11 pars.
Jack Doherty was the leading Scot on the Stadium Course with a
four-under 68 which included a bag of six birdies, five of them between the 12th and 17th.
Duncan Stewart's two-under 68 over the Tour Course featured birdie 2s at the 14th and 16th in an inward 33.
Clydeside-born South African-based Doug McGuigan returned a one-under 71 over the Stadium Course, in a steady round of two birdies, one bogey and 15 pars.
Neil Fenwick and Scott Henry both shot two-over 72s over the Tour
Course, Fenwick standing three over par after only seven holes, thanks to a double bogey 5 at the short fifth and a bogey 6 at the long seventh. He perked up with birdies at the ninth and 10th but let it slide away from him again with bogeys at the 11th, 12th and 13th.
Henry had the proverbial game of two halves. He took five-over 40 shots to the turn and then came sailing home in 32 with an eagle 3 at the 18th and birdies at the 10th, 11th and 16thg. Pity about two more bogeys, at the 13th and 15th.
Drummond's three-over 75 had two birdies and five bogeys while Russell's 76 saw him endure a demoralising run over five over par from the fifth to the 14th, including a double bogey 7 at the long 12th.
EUROPEAN TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
PGA Catalunya Golf Resort, Girona, Spain
Leading first-round scores
STADIUM COURSE
Par 72
66 Jens Dantorp (Swe)
68 Jack Doherty (Sco), Stuart Manley (Wal), James Watts (Eng).
69 Wade Ormsb y (Aus), Simon Wakefield (Eng), Brandon Stone (SAf),
Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Mikael Lundb erg (Swe))
70 Jason Knutzon (US), Ruaidhri McGee (Ir), Espen Kofstad (Nor)
SELECTED SCORES
71 Doug McGuigan (Sco).
72 Gareth Wright (Wal)
75 Scott Drummond (Sco)
76 Raymond Russell (Sco).
TOUR COURSE
Par 72
62 Edouard Espana (Fra)
64 Tain Lee (US), Richard Finch (Eng), Jamie Elson (Eng), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Thomas Pieters (Ger).
65 William Harrold (Eng), Lucas Bjerregard (Den), Joakim Legergren (Swe), David Brooks (Eng), Alastair Forsyth (Sco).
66 Patrick Sjoland (Swe), Rikard Karlberg (Swe), Niklas Lemke (Swe), Jason Barnes (Eng), Estanislao Goya (Arg), John Hatton (Eng), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Adam Gee (Eng), Andrew McArthur (Sco), Agustin Domingo (Spa)
SELECTED SCORES
67 George Murray.
68 Duncan Stewart.
72 Neil Fenwick, Scott Henry.
Published by scottishgolfview.com