Liam Nolan kept his cool in over 40 degree heat to birdie three of his last seven holes and make a bright start to the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
Nolan signed for a four-under-par 66 to sit in a share of 13th place and four shots behind leader Coby Carruthers in the last regular event of the HotelPlanner Tour season.
Nolan is assured of progression to the two big money and extra points Chinese events but his passage to the following Grand Final is not guaranteed yet. The Galway man is ranked 43rd in the Road to Mallorca Rankings with the top-45 making it to Alcanada where they will battle it out for fifteen DP World Tour cards. So, the 26-year-old needs a good finish to guarantee his place and a good run in China to move closer to the top-15.
There were also decent starts for Conor Purcell who carded a two-under 68 and Mark Power who birdied his last two to post a 69. Power is ranked 73rd and likely needs a top-20 finish to break into the top-70 and extend his season in China. The Mount Juliet star won the Clutch Pro Tour Championship at this venue twelve months ago.
James Sugrue is level-par after a 70 while 77th ranked player Max Kennedy recovered from a bogey, double bogey start to salvage a one-over 71 but he needs to make a big move over the weekend. 55th ranked Gary Hurley is also on that mark.
Ronan Mullarney is three-over, West of Ireland champion Mark Cadden is plus four while local pro Damien Scott is five-over.
At the top, Carruthers will take a one-stroke lead into day two after posting an eight under par opening round of 62.
The Australian, among the late starters in the UAE, made the most of the calmer afternoon conditions, maintaining a clean card along with his eight birdies.
The 21-year-old quickly found his rhythm with a gain on the difficult second before moving two under par with a birdie on the drivable par four fourth. Carruthers picked up another shot on seven to turn at three under and would climb the leaderboard with four birdies in five holes from the 11th.
Carruthers closed out his round with an eighth birdie of the day on the par five 18th, pulling one clear of Belgian James Meyer de Beco, who had earlier set the clubhouse target.
“I got off to a nice start,” Carruthers said. “I holed a nice birdie putt on the second. I kept it on play off the tee and missed just two greens which I know is super important around here.
“There wasn’t anything that stood out. Everything was really solid. I drove it quite nice as I said and holed a few solid putts and kept giving myself chances.”
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