Conor Purcell’s two-under 69 sees him tied for 32nd on a day of low scoring at Italy’s Argentario Golf Club, and he heads the eight-strong Irish contingent.
The Portmarnock man was consistent if not spectacular, mixing three birdies and a bogey to post the best score of the Irish contenders, and he’s one ahead of the trio of Ronan Mullarney, Gary Hurley and Conor O’Rourke.
At level-par, Jonathan Caldwell is the only other player in red or black figures, with Cormac Sharvin at +2 and Dermot McElroy and John Ross Galbraith one further adrift on +3.
Wil Besseling produced a sensational eight under par round of 63 to take a one stroke lead after day one.
The Dutchman went bogey-free to set the early pace and lead by one from Englishman Sam Hutsby, with a delay for thunder and lightning during play ensuring several players will return on Friday to conclude their first round.
The 38-year-old, starting on the back nine, birdied his first hole before adding four gains in a row from the 14th. Further birdies at the second, third and seventh saw him jump out in front, and he admits he was delighted with all facets of his game on the opening day.
“It’s a great start,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve played this course and starting with a 63 is great.
“I hit the ball well and I hit it straight, and I’ve been putting well so it was an enjoyable day. Finding the fairway off the tee is important with the greens not being that big, and I was able to do that.
“It looked like a big hole today which was good, so I felt confident on the greens and I played solid coming back in, so I’m very pleased.”
Besseling currently sits 39th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and with the leading 20 players earning promotion to the DP World Tour at the end of the year, he’s hopeful of securing a swift return to golf’s Global Tour after missing out on retaining his card last term.
“I’ve been playing steadily, but not shooting scores like today, so I’m happy that I’ve finally got a good score in,” he added. “Bogey-free is always good, but then having eight birdies on the other side is even better.
“I’ve had parts of rounds where I’ve done really well but there’s been too many mistakes in recent weeks.
“Finishing between tenth and 30th all the time isn’t bad, but I feel like I can do better and today was a good start.”
South African Justin Walters, Portuguese Ricardo Santos and Dane Hamish Brown share third place on six under par, with Spaniard Joel Moscatel, Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist and English duo John Parry and OJ Farrell one shot further back in sixth.
Due to the weather delay, round one will resume at 8:00am local time, with the second round due to start at 8:30am.
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