Three of the five Irish competing at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Q-School are under par after the opening day at Infinitum.
Played across the Lakes Course and the Hills Course John Ross Galbraith is the best of the Irish after a two-under 70 at the Hills which leaves him in a share of 42nd place and two shots off the top-20 and ties which would secure Category 18 on the DP World Tour after six rounds.
Galbraith, who could complete a meteoric late season rise from the Clutch Pro Tour to Europe’s top level, mixed four birdies with two bogeys in a solid effort.
Behind him are Max Kennedy and Conor Purcell who both experienced contrasting days but carded rounds of 71 to share 61st place.
Kennedy was in touch with the top of the leaderboard after he followed a bogey on 12 with five birdies in a row from the 16th to the 2nd.
However, a triple bogey seven on the 5th and a bogey on the 7th undid all of his great work but he did manage to birdie the ninth to end the day in red figures and ensure that the day wasn’t a fatal blow with five more rounds to play.
Purcell, who is looking to earn back his card immediately after losing his playing rights this season, birdied the 2nd and 10th before he dropped a shot at the last.
Mark Power is level-par after a 72 while Cormac Sharvin found a late birdie on 17 to salvage a round of 73.
Connor McKinney leads by two shots after the opening round after making a blistering start to the week.
The Australian carded nine birdies without a blemish to sign for a nine under par 62 on the Hills Course, to jump into a two-shot lead from American Alex Goff, South African Zander Lombard and Swiss Cedric Gugler.
McKinney, who came through First Stage and Second Stage to tee it up at Final Stage, made a fast start to the first round in Tarragona by carding three birdies in his opening four holes.
The 23-year-old added three more gains in a four-hole stretch around the turn, and then added birdies at 15, 16 and 18 coming home to set the early pace.
“I’m pretty stoked,” he said. “I think I was in a good bit of form heading into the week, and I’d say I was pretty confident in my ability, but to pull it off at Q-School is always a good thing.
“There was a lot of good stuff. Any time you’re keeping the bogeys off the card it helps a lot. It makes the days less stressful and a little easier, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
“During the year I really found my feet again, so everything is going to plan so far. I’m trending in the right direction.”
McKinney will look to continue his good form when he plays the Hills Course tomorrow in round two of the six-round marathon, and with the leading 20 players and ties earning DP World Tour playing privileges at the end of the week, says recovery will be the key to success each day.
“You’ve got to keep the mental side pretty sharp which goes hand in hand with not overdoing it in practice,” he added. “It’s about conserving energy out here.
“A lot of guys can play out here, so it’s almost like survival of the fittest in a way. I’m going to recover after this and I think every day post-round it’ll be the same, just try to keep the body good for the next day.”
Sweden’s Oliver Gillberg, who won Second Stage Qualifying School at Desert Springs Resort last week, is fifth on six under par, with seven players one shot further back in sixth, including Andreas Halvorsen from Norway, England’s Frank Kennedy, German Jannik de Bruyn and South African Robin Williams.
The second round of Final Stage Qualifying School gets under way tomorrow at 9:00am local time, with McKinney teeing off alongside Brazilian Frederico Biondi Figueiredo and American Charles Huntzinger at 9:22am.
