Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik barged his way to the top of the leaderboard with a powerhouse performance at the Open de Madrid Valle Romano.
Despite strengthening crosswinds at the Real Sociedad Hipica Española Club de Campo, Vancsik carded a hugely impressive seven under par 65 to take a one shot lead over Portugal’s José-Filipe Lima and a two stroke advantage from Martin Kaymer of Germany and Scotland’s Steven O’Hara.
Starting on the tenth tee, Vancsik, who secured his maiden European Tour victory at the Madeira Islands Open BPI in March, flew out of the blocks with two consecutive birdies before adding another two and a single bogey to get to the turn in three under par 33.
As the wind strength grew, so did Vancsik’s determination as he boomed an awesome drive down the par five third hole that led to an eagle three, which was to be followed with a birdie on the par three seventh and a closing birdie on the par five ninth to give him the outright lead.
“I just played great today,” said Vancsik. “I missed only two fairways and two greens all day and my iron play was fantastic. I hit the ball so close to the pin on so many holes, that’s why I made so many birdies today.
“I only had a couple of birdie putts from over two metres and the rest were very close. I was five under of the par fives today and that was very important.
“I’m using the Mizuno MP-600 driver and I love it. I am hitting it about 330 or 340 yards and there were some times today when I said to my caddie “where is the ball?” because I was hitting it so far!
“But I am very happy today because I have been playing really well from tee to green but not taking my chances, or making some birdies but then also some stupid bogeys. So to make seven under today without any big mistakes was great.”
Lima posted a similarly impressive round to the leader, the only difference being an extra bogey from the Portuguese.
He said: “I played very well, my iron play was good and I feel good for this week. The course is difficult but the more I get to know it the more I like it. I was trying to change a lot in my game this year, but I am now going back to the way I used to play and I am starting to get the old feelings back.”
O’Hara, meanwhile, is one of those players in the field fighting to retain his European Tour card for next season. Currently 120th on the Order of Merit, the Scot needs a big result in the next three weeks to move safely inside the top 115 players who will retain their playing privileges for next year.
While O’Hara concentrates on the fight for European Tour survival, Kaymer is seeking a maiden victory in his rookie year on Tour that would make him hard to ignore as the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
Already one of the outstanding candidates for the award, the German, who finished tied second at the Scandinavian Masters and tied third at the Estoril Open de Portugal, is 55th on the Order of Merit.
One stroke behind Kaymer and O’Hara lies Italy’s Emanuele Canonica and England’s Gary Lockerbie, while Alejandro Cañizares is the leading Spaniard on three under.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy opened his bid to become the youngest winner in European Tour history with a one over par 73.
With light fading fast in Madrid, the first round is still to be completed with one match to finish their first rounds on Friday morning.
