Quim Vidal battled tough conditions to post a brilliant seven under par round of 65 and open a one-shot lead after round one of the Challenge de Cadiz at Iberostar Real Golf Novo Sancti Petri.
The Spaniard, starting from the tenth, took advantage of the benign early morning conditions to card five consecutive birdies and burst into the lead, making the turn at five under.
Scoring became more difficult in the afternoon as the wind picked up on the Cadiz coastline, but Vidal showed his fight coming in with three more birdies and just one bogey to cement his position at the top of the leaderboard on seven under, one ahead of countryman Rocco Repetto Taylor.
“I’m very happy with how I played today and it’s a great score in these conditions,” he said. “The wind was very strong, especially on the back nine.
“I think we got lucky in the morning because the wind was not pushing as hard, and I took advantage of that with five early birdies. I kept my ball under the wind on the back nine which was very important today.
“I don’t enjoy playing in windy conditions, but I felt comfortable on this golf course, and I managed my game very well. Everything seemed to go right for me this morning, I hit it well off the tee, I was close with my irons and short game, and I putted great too.”
Vidal, who picked up a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at the Delhi Challenge earlier this year, is delighted to be teeing it up on home soil this week as he looks to strengthen his position on the Rankings with the top 20 players earning graduation to the DP World Tour.
“I love playing at home and these are my favourite events,” he said. “The weather is great, the food is amazing, and we get such good support from the home crowds. It’s good to be back.
“I’ve had a strong start to the year, and I got my first win in India. I’m in a strong position on the Rankings but it’s important to keep playing well because my target is to earn a DP World Tour card at the end of the year.”
Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Swede Robin Petersson share third position on five under par, while Spaniard Mario Galiano Aguilar and Sweden’s Ollie Jacobsson are a shot further back in fifth.
The second round will get under way at 8am local time, with Vidal teeing it up alongside England’s Jamie Rutherford and defending champion Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen at 2pm.
