Pedro Martinez of Paraguay, playing in Europe for only the third time, set the course record and snatched the first round lead in the Moroccan Open at Golf d’Amelkis, Marrakech.
Martinez, 36, a former professional footballer who turned to golf when he sustained a serious knee injury, fired an eight under par 64 to lead by one stroke from Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson.
Jacobson, playing only his fourth event after breaking his thumb playing ice hockey over the winter, took the putter out of the equation on his way to shooting a seven under par 65.
He holed out with a seven iron at the third hole to collect his first ace on Tour and his third overall, while he finished with a flourish, hitting a drive and three iron to three feet for the simplest of eagles.
However the opening day in sunny Morocco, over a superb course affording some spectacular views of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, belonged to the Paraguayan from a family of twelve.
Martinez, who has six brothers and five sisters, qualifed for the Moroccan Open after finishing in the top ten in the Brazil Sao Paulo 500 Year Open. He came through the qualifying for that tournament as No.1, then tied for third, earning £20,741 in the process.
Two weeks ago he won the Open Bahia Blanca on the Argentinian PGA Tour before trying his luck on the European Tour. He said: “I have won 24 titles in South America and the South American Order of Merit twice.
“I used to be a caddie for five years and played football professionally until a knee injury forced me to retire. Now I have two brothers who are also professionals and I would love to play on the European Tour. I tried to get my card in 1996 but missed by two strokes. Now I will try again – unless I win this week and get on Tour automatically.”
Jacobson, back to form after a miserable winter, explained: “I played in an ice-hockey match on December 16 – the golf pros against the tennis pros at Filipstad in Sweden. I fell and broke my left thumb. I underwent surgery on the 27th of December and only had one week’s practice before I went to Madeira.
“By coincidence I went ski-ing in 1998 and damaged the same thumb and was out for the same length of time. Maybe I should stop playing these dangerous sports but I’m not promising anything!”
Jacobson wasn’t the only player to achieve a hole in one. England’s Jamie Spence aced the eighth with a five iron on his way to a round of 66, six under par.
Nine players – Spence, Van Phillips, Ross Drummond, Thomas Levet, Sebastien Delagrange, Janeirek Dahlstrom, Mikael Lundberg, Brian Nelson, and Australian amateur, Adam Scott, all finished tied on 66, six under par, one in front of the top ranked players in the field, Andrew Coltart.
Scott, 19, another of the young sensations from Down Under, received an invitation to appear in Morocco and his first visit to the European Tour in search of experience yielded a superb first round.
The teenager, coached by Butch Harmon of Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke fame, said: “I’ve got invites at the moment. I will be back to play the Benson and Hedges and Dutch Open. I had hoped to get into the Spanish and French Opens but have had no luck. I am enjoying it here.”
Ryder Cup Scot Coltart was six under after 11 holes and seemingly on course for a very low score, but he dropped a stroke near the end and was disappointed with a 67. He said: “I played really nicely for 15 holes but didn’t manage to convert my chances.”
