Stephen Gallacher leads the Staysure English Legends by two shots after firing a superb bogey-free seven-under-par 65 on the opening day at Chart Hills with Paul McGinley taking a place in the top 15.
The Scot sits two clear of former World Number One Lee Westwood and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, who both carded five-under-par 67s to share second place. David Drysdale, Peter Baker and Van Phillips are tied for fourth at four-under after rounds of 68.
With current Order of Merit leader Jamie Donaldson not in the field this week, Gallacher also has the opportunity to close the gap in the season-long race. The four-time DP World Tour winner currently sits third in the standings and is searching for his first victory on the Staysure Legends Tour.
Gallacher and Westwood made the early running in Kent, with the former Ryder Cup teammates battling at the top of the leaderboard throughout the morning. Both were part of Paul McGinley’s victorious European team at Gleneagles in 2014, and there was little to separate the pair during an impressive opening nine.
Both opened with birdies at the par-five first before striking again at the fifth, where Gallacher rolled home from 14 feet and Westwood converted from four feet.
Gallacher then moved through the gears, knocking his approach to three feet at the sixth before further birdies at eight and nine saw him reach the turn in 31 at five-under.
Westwood remained firmly in contention, adding birdies at six, nine and ten to join Gallacher at five-under before his only bogey of the day at the par-three 11th.
“I’m really happy. No bogeys, which is always good,” said Gallacher. “It’s going to get windy over the weekend, so it was a good chance to get a good score in early. When it’s only three rounds, you’ve got to try and get off to that fast start.”
Gallacher soon had another fellow Scot for company as David Drysdale, who claimed the Vattanac Legends Championship in Cambodia last year, reached five-under to join him at the top of the leaderboard.
Gallacher responded with a birdie at the par-five 12th to regain the outright advantage before a bogey for Drysdale at the 13th opened up a two-shot gap. Gallacher added his seventh birdie at the 16th before three closing pars completed a flawless 65.
The 2014 Ryder Cup player was particularly pleased with how he negotiated the Sir Nick Faldo-designed layout.
“It’s a brilliant design. You’ve got to hit it both ways and you’ve got to think out there as well. You can’t overpower it. I managed my way around the course really well.”
Westwood bounced back from his dropped shot at the 11th with a birdie at the 14th, eventually signing for a five-under 67 on his first competitive appearance on the Staysure Legends Tour.
“I played nicely. A lot of good putts didn’t go in, but I gave myself a lot of chances for birdie and hopefully they’ll start going in tomorrow,” said Westwood.
The former World Number One has also enjoyed being reunited with familiar faces during his first week on the Tour.
“It’s been brilliant. These are all the guys that I played amateur golf with and started playing on Tour with. I’ve not seen a lot of them for 20 years, so I’ve missed them. It’s nice to chat about the old times.”
McGinley, making just his third start of the season, shot a one-under 71 to take a share of 15th place, while Cameron Clark is two shots further adrift and tied for 31st.
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