Max Kennedy is just two shots off the lead after an opening five-under-par round of 67 at the MENA Tour’s Rolear Algarve Classic at Amendoeira Golf Resort in Portugal.
Playing on a tournament invitation as he looks to keep himself sharp ahead of the start of the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour campaign in South Africa in January, the Royal Dublin man – playing on the O’Connor Course, designed for former Royal Dublin Assistant Pro and Ryder Cup hero, Christy O’Connor Jnr – parred his opening two holes before springing to life with three birdies in successive holes and added another on the par-4 ninth to make the turn at four-under.
Further birdies followed on each of the par-5s on the back nine, before the only blemish of the day on the par-4 closing hole, which dropped him back to -5 and two off the lead in a share of fourth place.
Paul McBride is next best of the Irish on level-par and sharing 34th. The Island man got himself to -2 with four to play after starting his back nine with a hat-trick of birdies, before bogeys on 15 and 18 resulted in a 72.
Tyler Hogarty and Gary McGrane are tied for 55th in the 86-man field after matching two-over 72s, and will both need to improve in round two if they’re to make it through to Thursday’s final round.
At the head of affairs, Scotland’s Aidan O’Hagan, former Ryder Cup star Chris Wood and Italy’s Aron Zemmer fired matching seven-under-par rounds of 65 to share the first-round lead.
O’Hagan’s bogey-free round was highlighted by a spectacular hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole, the centrepiece of a stunning display that has the Scot perfectly positioned heading into Wednesday’s second round.
“I had a perfect number, 181, it was a nice eight iron, just a little bit off it, landed past the pin and when we got the range finder on it, it was good to see that it had dropped,” said O’Hagan. “It was kind of the perfect shot really. It definitely gave me confidence that I was hitting it the way I wanted to.”
O’Hagan’s front nine featured the ace on six along with a birdie on five for a flawless outward 31. His back nine proved more eventful with birdies on 11 and 12, a bogey on 13, before a blistering run of two birdies and an eagle over his next three holes. A further dropped shot at the last did little to dampen his spirits after such a commanding performance.
“This course suits me well off the tee. I can hit driver a lot of places and my iron play has been pretty strong, which is nice,” he added. “Hopefully just keep rolling in a few putts and should be able to have a good week.”
Playing in the group behind, O’Hagan’s close friend and fellow Scot Sebastian Sandin heard the celebrations erupt on the sixth green. “I heard them shout and then we pulled out the rangefinder, saw the pitch mark behind the pin with no ball,” said Sandin, who posted a solid one-under 71. “We’re like, ‘did you hole it?’ He’s like, ‘aye, hole-in-one.’ It was brilliant to see.”
Wood, the Q School winner who endured a challenging season opener at Aroeira last week, looked far more comfortable on the O’Connor Course as he fired a blemish-free 65. The Englishman birdied his opening three holes and added another on five before picking up shots on 10, 11 and 18 to match the leading score.
“I started well, birdied my first three holes. There are chances out there,” said Wood. “I was talking to (caddy) Lloydy last night about picking small targets off the tee and really honing in on our second shots as it’s easy to get sloppy with your target because the fairways are so generous.”
The three-time DP World Tour winner was pleased to find his rhythm in competitive conditions. “It’s nice to be playing golf round after round and this is offering me competitive golf with a card in your hand,” Wood explained. “I’ve not looked like shooting mid-60s for a couple of years. Wherever you are playing, if you can become used to shooting lower scores, that’s good for where you’re going.”
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