Irishman Damien McGrane fired a first round, six under par 64 that included an eagle two to take a two shot lead from two time Masters Champion José Maria Olazábal and Belgian Didier De Vooght at the dual ranking Turespaña Mallorca Classic, at Pula Golf Club, Majorca.
McGrane, currently 142nd on the Volvo Order of Merit with €121,152, put himself in pole position at the 6568 yard, par 70, Pula venue with some brilliant golf – and no shot was better than his magnificent 147 yard, eight iron approach to the par four 14th hole, that bounced once before landing right in the middle of the hole.
Further birdies at the 15th and 16th supplemented his front nine score of two under 33 to see him home in 31 to lead by two from Spanish superstar Olazábal and European Challenge Tour regular De Vooght, who both carded 66s to lie on four under.
Swede Michael Jonzon and Englishman Stuart Little are a further shot behind on three under par, with no less than 12 players tied for sixth place on two under.
McGrane refuses to place any pressure on himself as he attempts take the €66,660 first prize in order to propel himself to safety in his battle to retain his European Tour card for 2004.
He said: "There’s no pressure on me. This game is hard enough without putting pressure on yourself when you are out there!”
Olazábal, who has started planning the redesign of the Pula course, was happy with his score as he looks to cement his place in the top 60 on The European Tour’s Volvo Order of Merit in order to guarantee his place in the Volvo Masters Andalucia at Valderrama.
“It was a tough day because of the wind coming in different directions, which made it difficult to choose the right club,” said the 1994 and 1999 Masters Champion. “My approaches were very good – most of them! And I left myself reasonable putts that I holed.
“My game was not marvellous – I had good and bad shots but managed not to get into trouble. I haven’t had such a good round for a long time and that gives me a lot of confidence.”
De Vooght, like McGrane, could use a high finish in Mallorca in order to get himself into the top 45 on the Challenge Tour Rankings and guarantee himself a place at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Bordeaux next weekend. The 29 year old is currently 59th on the rankings with earnings of €17,716.
He said: “I played very well out there today. I haven’t been driving the ball so good for the past few weeks, but it all came together today and that helped me a lot. It always does when you keep it straight!
“I thought the course was quite tricky at points. There were times when you thought you had hit it close but the ball would then trickle away from the hole, but then at the same time, some of the bad shots turned out to be quite good because they would run close to the hole when you weren’t expecting it.
“I suppose your luck evens itself out on the golf course – it always does. I just hope I can keep things going for tomorrow.”
Pre tournament favourites Maarten Lafeber – winner of the Dutch Open last weekend – and Lee Westwood, who has won twice on The European Tour in the last two months, had mixed fortunes in the first round.
Dutchman Lafeber had a satisfying 68 to lie in amongst those 12 other players tied for sixth, while Westwood got off to a disappointing start with a two over par 72.
Lafeber, who became the first home winner of the Dutch Open for 56 years with a one stroke victory over Denmark’s Søren Hansen and Mathias Grönberg of Sweden at Hilversumche Golf Club last week, admitted his surprise at playing so well considering the amount of celebrating that followed that momentous victory in his homeland!
“My score was pretty good considering I didn’t hit the ball very well. I finished with a bogey that was disappointing but I’m happy with the way I played.
“I’m happy with this start but could do with a bit more feel on the greens. It’s a tricky course and you have to be very careful. You have to drive the ball well, hit as many greens and fairways as possible and be very patient because it is tricky.
“I had so many good reactions from my win at home last week – but I’m a little tired just now from all the celebrations!”
