Two Spaniards top the leaderboard at the end of the first day of the Buzzgolf.com North West of Ireland Open as both Luis Claverie and Jose Manuel Lara set a new course record of 66, six under par, at the superb Slieve Russell Hotel Golf and Country Club.
But looming dangerously in the group of six players a shot adrift of the leaders is the experienced form of Des Smyth, winner of the Irish PGA Championship over this course in 1996. The former Ryder Cup player put his local knowledge to good use to shoot a flawless 67 to lie alongside 1999 Amateur Champion Graeme Storm, Massimo Scarpa, Andrew Beal, Gary Emerson and Garry Houston.
Lara missed out in earning his Tour card by the narrowest of margins when a missed six foot putt on the final green of First Cuba Grand Final last season cost him a place in the top 15 of the Rankings. But the 1996 Spanish Amateur Champion feels he has come back a stronger player for the experience with six top ten finishes already this season to lie in sixth place in the Order of Merit.
“It was hard starting a new season after coming so close to earning my card last year,” said the 23-year-old from Valencia. “ But I’m more solid now and this could be my year.”
His round of 66 was helped by an eagle three on the 529 yards 13th when he holed a 30 foot putt but a dropped shot after finding a fairway bunker on the 15th cost him the outright lead.
Claverie is playing his first full season on the Challenge Tour having completed his business studies degree at Southampton University and military service. The 29 year old from Tenerife was second reserve and bound for Norway when he got a call at Heathrow informing him he was in just an hour before take-off. A quick change of flights and Claverie arrived in Ireland for the first time.
“I never expected to be here, let alone play well,” he said. “My putting has been poor for the last couple of months but it clicked today. Putting is often the key. If you putt well you score well.”
Smyth finished third behind Costantino Rocca in this event last year and arrived at Slieve Russell on the back of a string of good performances on the Tour including his joint sixth finish in Murphy’s Irish Open. A good week this week could secure a Tour card for the 47-year-old.
He said: “It was a lovely start. It is a course I obviously like and I do play well here. I played very well today. It was a bogey free round which is always a nice thing to do.. I’ve been playing well on Tour lately so I was ever hopeful I might get off to a good start and that is what I’ve done.
“I can think about winning this. The majority of the field are Challenge Tour players which doesn't mean anything as some of them come off the Challenge Tour and win on our Tour. There are plenty of guys capable of shooting low rounds but I suppose it is a situation where I can think if I play my golf and hole a few putts I have a chance.”
Storm won the Amateur Championship last year just a few miles up the road in Royal County Down and finds himself once again soaking up the Irish atmosphere and carrying on the good form which saw him finish fourth last week in Finland. He finished last week with a bogey free 65 and started here with another flawless round to lie a shot off the lead. His target is to finish in the top 45 of the Challenge Tour Rankings to avoid pre-qualifying for the Tour School Finals in this, his first season as a professional after leaving the amateur ranks after the Masters Tournament. But a good week here could elevate him into the top 15 and in sight of a Tour card.
Defending champion Costantino Rocca shot a one under par 71 in his bid to end a run of seven successive missed cuts.
