Liam Johnston, who shot a superb 61 to lead the Portugal Masters after the first round, at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf course. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

SCOTLAND’S Liam Johnston produced the lowest round of his European Tour career at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf course.

The 26-year-old from Dumfries fired a sparkling round of 61 to lead by one shot at the end of the opening day of the 2020 Portugal Masters.

At nine-under par through 16 holes, the Scot was in contention to match the historic 59 Oliver Fisher shot on the same Algarve course two years ago.

He narrowly cleared the water with his approach into the par-five 17th, but could not hole his eagle putt from range.

A par on the last took the two-time European Challenge Tour winner to 10-under, one shot ahead of Frenchman Julien Guerrier.

Johnston, who won the Kazakhstan Open two years ago to earn his European Tour card, said: “With the rough out there, it’s nice to keep the bogeys off the card.

“I saved well when I needed to and holed a lot of putts out there. Delighted with the 10 birdies.

“I told my coach back home I was swinging it as good as I ever have, and my game feels like it’s trending in the right direction.

“More importantly, I’m in a really good place mentally. I didn’t see a round like this coming. But I felt like I was playing well,” said Liam, who won the African and Scottish Amateur strokeplay titles in 2017.

Johnston: I didn’t know course par

INEVITABLY, much of post-round talk was how aware was he that he had a real chance to equal Oliver Fisher’s record-breaking 59 at the Victoria Course in 2018.

Johnston said: “I had no idea. I was just talking to Kristoffer Broberg and just noticed it was a par 71.

He added: “I thought it was a par 72. Obviously, I was trying to hole that putt on 17 to make eagle, and just left it a little bit short. Nice par on the last.”

Johnston has been friends since childhood with Grant Forrest and Connor Syme. The latter had a very successful UK Swing, finishing third in the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor.

Liam freely admits their successes – and that of Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Bob MacIntyre – are spurring each other on as they seek to match last year’s European Tour win Down Under by David Law, who is slightly older.

“We’ve all known each other for ages and feed off the success each other has,” said Johnston in 2018.

Frenchman Guerrier has struggled to match his victory in The Amateur Championship in 2006, when he beat Surrey’s Adam Gee, at Royal St George’s.

Guerrier said: “I really enjoyed how I played the course. The conditions were great. The weather was perfect. I played great. I hit a lot of fairways and I think that is the key here.

“As soon as I hit my ball into the rough it was a different hole. You fight for the par and when you put your ball on the fairway it’s like a birdie chance.

“You try to make it the best you can,” said the 36-year-old, who shot a 60 during the 2009 European Tour School, where he earned his first card.

Laurie in second place at a Canter

MEANWHILE ex-Somerset county player Laurie Canter was at seven-under after a round of 64, with all of the leading three players going bogey-free in Vilamoura.

The 2010 South African Amateur and South African Strokeplay winner said: “I don’t think I’ve done that for a while to be fair, bogey-free, I’ve had my fair share of bogeys so it’s nice to keep them off the card for a day.

“There’s a couple of new things I’ve been working,” the 30-year-old revealed.

“Nothing radical really. Just some good, smart advice from some good coaches and my other half, Anna, is now my manager. So I’ve got to put it down to her really.”

Canter won six times in 2010, including victory in the Hampshire Hog, breaking Justin Rose’s scoring record at North Hants GC.

But the Bath-based golfer is still looking for his maiden European Tour win having turned pro in 2011.

Rory’s ex-Walker Cup partner’s good start

NORTHERN Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell, who partnered Rory McIlroy at the Walker Cup, in 2007, is another Great Britain and Ireland player at six-under.

The 36-year-old from Bangor, who has two wins on the PGA EuroPro Tour, was one shot ahead of South African George Coetzee – one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The pair were joined on that number by Cheshire’s Walker Cup player Matthew Jordan, Denmark’s Ryder Cup player Thorbjørn Olesen and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, whose maiden win came a year ago at Crans, in Switzerland.

A group of 12 players are then at four-under, with World No, 16 Tommy Fleetwood, and the highest-placed Portuguese player – Tomás Bessa – among a further eight players at three-under.

Fleetwood happy with driving as US Open draws near

FLEETWOOD playing in the event for the first time in four years was pleased as he started his preparations for next week’s US Open in earnest.

“Overall I was happy,” said the five-time European Tour winner. “I had a dodgy spell through three, four, five, six and then started hitting it well and had chances.

“The course is a different test to what it’s always been. I drove it great – ignore the one on the last.

“I drove it really well and gave myself a lot of chances. It’s nice to be playing this course again.

“I felt like I was working hard, like every shot. But the more I felt myself strike the golf ball, look up and seeing it doing what I would like it to do, the more confidence you build.

“And that’s exactly why I’m playing this week. You’ve got to play golf really, in tournament conditions.

“And it’s always nice to see some work pay off in a tournament.”

Meanwhile, India’s Shubhankar Sharma recorded the first albatross on the 2020 Race to Dubai, holing out from 241 yards with his second shot on the 588-yard par-five 17th hole.

•Follow live scoring in the second round of the Portugal Masters by clicking here.

The post Johnston spurred on by Syme success fires brilliant first round 61 at Portugal Masters appeared first on Golf North.

Northern Ireland’s Cormac Sharvin leads the English Championship after the first round at Hanbury Manor having shot a superb 63 as one of the late starters. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

An opening round of 63 by Cormac Sharvin was enough to open up a one-shot cushion over a congested leaderboard in the inaugural English Championship.

The Northern Irishman dropped just two shots to reach eight-under par – on a day of perfect scoring conditions at Hanbury Manor Marriot Hotel and Country Club – to move one ahead of a group of six players.

The English trio of Jack Senior Laurie Canter and David Howell had all held the lead. Lancastrian Senior had gone out in 29, and got to eight-under before two late bogeys saw him drop back.

Canter and Howell – who holed his second shot on the 15th – also dropped shots on the 17^th to fall back into the pack.

They ended round one of the third event of the UK Swing alongside Belgian Thomas Detry, Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, and Australians Min Woo Lee and Jason Scrivener.

Sharvin said: “It was a nice round – played really well, Didn’t do too much wrong. Put it on the fairway, hit a lot of good shots and holed a few putts as well and it all added up to 63.

“Pretty happy to start well. A long way to go. But it’s always nice to shoot a good score on the first day and not put yourself out of it.

“I feel like last week I didn’t play too badly.” Cormac added: “I just struggled on the greens.

“I did a lot of work with Dean Robertson my old college coach, who has been caddying for me on the UK Swing.

“Did a lot of work on my putting process and it seemed to work. Hopefully it keeps going in that direction and see where it takes us,” said Sharvin.

English pair in hunt at Hanbury

CANTER and Howell sit one shot ahead of a group of nine players, including Belgian Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts and rising Danish star Rasmus Højgaard.

The pair recorded rounds of 65 to sit at six-under after the European Tour returned to the Hertfordshire venue for the first time since 1999.

Canter, from Somerset, said: “I got off to a great start. I said to my caddie on the putting green I didn’t feel like I was getting to grips with the greens.

“Then on the first hole I holed a 60-footer right across it. Funny how that happened.

“Played really nicely. I’d have that swing back on 17, but I’m happy with today.

“I have tried to do things a bit differently because we have the opportunity to. I’ve always played with keeping the card hanging over my head.

“Someone I work with asked ‘how are you going to approach the game differently?’ It’s not rocket science.

“I’ve tried to do a couple of things. It’s early to say it’s working. I’ve only played nine rounds.

“It’s been more enjoyable – which is one thing I’ve taken out of it and I’m having fun out there. We’ll see how long that continues.”

David Howell’s last win came in 2013 in the Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews

Howell: I just needed a good start

TWO-time Ryder Cup winner Howell has struggled to replicate his big wins of 2006 after a long-term back condition hampered his career.

The Broome Manor GC member, from Swindon, has now been on tour for 25 years and has five wins including the HSBC Invitational in 2005, when he beat Tiger Woods in Shanghai.

Howell, whose last win came in the Alfred Dunhill Links seven years ago, said: “It’s been a long time since I’ve put a good first round on the board to be honest. It’s what I’ve been crying out for.

“I’ve played some reasonable golf in spurts since we’ve come back but haven’t got off to a great start.

“Today it happened so it was lovely. Nice to see my name somewhere near the top of the leaderboard, if not the top.

“There was a lovely family, the only gallery we would have, in their property behind the 15th green.

“Might be the only golf fans we play in front of for the entire UK Swing.

“They happened to be sat there on their own lawn when the ball went in. They were the give away that it was indeed an eagle.”

Howell was the clubhouse leader with the six others until Sharvin overtook them late in the afternoon.

Detry on a roll after English Open near miss

THOMAS Detry has been touted by many people as a winner in waiting on the European Tour and lost out to Florida-based Mancunian Sam Horsfield in last week’s English Open.

Detry, who made nine birdies in his 64, said: “It was really good. Built up a bit of momentum from last week I think.

“I got off to a really good start, with an eagle chance at the second, a birdie putt at the third.

Detry added: “I was just rolling – had four more birdies on the last four holes of the front nine.

“Then I kept it going. I made two little mistakes on 11 and 17 but I’m very pleased with the way I’m playing golf right now.

“You’ve just got to forget about it and this week is just another chance to put my name up there and have a chance on Sunday.

“That’s what I think I’ve done today and hopefully I can keep going the next few days. Last week was not easy.

“I played some really good golf but Sam Horsfield hit an amazing shot on 17 to birdie that hole and beat me by one, so we just move on.”

Min Woo Lee has been tipped for thE top. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

Min Woo Lee hopes he turned corner at Ware

ANOTHER young player touted for great things is former US Junior Amateur Champion Min Woo Lee.

He said: “I just striped it awesome. I hit it really good with my irons and my driver and rolled a few in.

“I think my longest putt was 25 feet, so I was pretty happy with that. It’s scoreable but you’ve also got to hit your shots.

“I hit it really awesome and close to the hole so it gave me a lot of opportunities.”

Lee, who sister is an LPGA winner, narrowly missed out on his European Tour card for 2020.

But he picked up the ISPS Handa Vic Open title in February to regain his playing privileges.

And he admitted the UK Swing had not started well for the 22-year-old before his arrival at Ware’s Hanbury Manor, in Hertforshire.

Lee said: “The results weren’t there for me. I missed the cut. I felt pretty down after those two and then you come out here and play really good.

“That’s golf. I worked hard in my break and on the weekends when I missed the cut. So it’s nice to come out here and shoot a good score.”

•Follow Cormac Sharvin and live scores in round two by clicking here.

The post Sharvin shaves it as Howell, Canter and Detry queue up for lead at Hanbury Manor appeared first on Golf North.

Italy’s Francesco Laporta held on to his one-shot lead at the Challenge Tour Grand Final at Mallorca’s Alcanada Golf Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Laporta held on to his narrow lead at the halfway stage of the Challenge Tour Grand Final, at Mallorca’s Club de Golf Alcanada.

And the Italian is in pole position to be crowned Road to Mallorca No. 1 after a two-under par second round of 69 left him in pole position with two rounds to play.

Laporte’s round moved him to five-under in total, one stroke clear of Spain’s Sebastian Garcia-Rodriguez and two ahead of Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist.

But Surrey’s Ross McGowan posted a bogey-free 66 to move into sixth with a further move up the leaderboard in his sights on Saturday.

McGowan who won the 2009 Madrid Open on the European Tour and has three more wins on the Challenge Tour to his name, said: “The greens were slower today.

“The wind was probably a bit stronger yesterday and the greens were quicker. I think I had four three-putts and really struggled on them.

“Today, I putted a lot better,” said the Banstead GC member who lost his card on the European Tour back in 2011, but won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge in May.

“The wind was still up pretty early doors. I had to hit three-wood into the first after a good drive, whereas yesterday we had pretty calm conditions during the first few holes,” said McGowan.

“The wind was going in a different direction today and it made a few holes on the back nine a little bit easier.

“I think 13 and 14, which were really tough yesterday, were easier today because we could hit irons in there – and it was much more favourable.

“I need two more of the same over the weekend and I’ll take that right now,” McGowan added.

“I think I’ve just got to carry on what I was doing today. I had much more focus and with the greens, I was seeing the speed a lot better.”

The low round of the day – and the week so far – belonged to Somerset’s Laurie Canter, who bounced back from an opening round of 80 with a 65.

After 36 holes on the Balearic island, current projections show the top 15 – who will earn a European Tour card for 2020 come Sunday – would be unchanged if the tournament were to have end this afternoon.

Darius van Driel is still clinging onto the last card, but several players have given themselves a shot of glory with two rounds remaining over the weekend on the Spanish holiday island.

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson is the man best-placed to break into the graduation spots.

The Glasgow Walker Cup player’s second consecutive level par round of 71 moved him into a tie for seventh place heading into the weekend – and 16th on the Road to Mallorca rankings, just 4,854 points behind van Driel.

But Laporta, the winner of last month’s Hainan Open, in China, is the man they have to beat to earn the biggest winners’ prize of the season.

Laporta, who has only missed the cut once in his last 16 events, said: “It was a bit more windy today.

“We had the wind for the entire 18 holes, whereas yesterday it came down for around five or six holes.

“It wasn’t easy – the greens were a bit slower and less firm. There were some tough pin positions and the other guys played solid, so it was a good game.

“Everyone enjoyed the round and we had a good fight. Hopefully we’ll have another good fight tomorrow.

“I’m going to practice a bit this afternoon, then I’m going to go and play PlayStation.”

Nearest challenger Garcia-Rodriguez said: “I played very solid on the front nine although the putter wasn’t working perfectly.

“But on the back nine I played lovely. I had two chip-ins, on the 13^th and 15^th and the rest of the holes I played so well,” said the Spaniard, who would love to win on home soil.

“I just stuck to the process to turn it around today. Check the wind, make a good swing – that was my key. There will be a lot of people here this weekend cheering me on, why not go for the win?”

European Tour card battle goes to to last hole

SCIOT-Siegrist knows the race to be crowned overall champion will almost certainly go to the wire, especially if the winds which were forecasted to reach 30mph on Friday, turn out stronger than the 10mph expected over the weekend.

“Anything can happen, literally. I know I’m far off in the rankings and that I need to finish top two or better,” said Sciot-Siegrist.

“But I came here this week knowing I needed to finish top two and I started to play well a couple weeks ago – and then seeing this course… I like this course.

“There are just a lot of things that tell you that something can happen, but it’s the top players on the Challenge Tour playing this week and you know it’s going to be tough… but we’ll see.

“There’s a lot of wind and the course is very tricky. I struggle on easy courses because target golf is not really something that I do very well.

“This is just the kind of course that makes you frustrated, you need to think a little bit about your shots, and then the wind comes in, it’s like a British Amateur.”

Germany’s Sebastian Heisele and Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan, who both looked to have secured their European Tour playing privileges for next year, share fourth place on two-under.

The third round at Club de Golf Alcanada will begin at 7.30am GMT, with the top three of Laporta, Garcia Rodriguez and Sciot-Siegrist making up the final group who go out at 10.05am.

•Follow live scoring by clicking here.

The post Laporta leads after blustery day at Challenge Tour Grand Final at Mallorca’s Alcanada appeared first on Golf North.

Robin Roussel aims to go one better than in the Hainan Open by winning the Foshan Open in China, in his quest to be crowned No. 1 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ROBIN Roussel is taking inspiration from last year’s champion Victor Perez as he bids to move to the top of the Road to Mallorca with a strong performance at this week’s Foshan Open.

The Frenchman is currently in second place on the Road to Mallorca rankings following a runner-up finish at the Hainan Open last week.

Roussel will now go in search of his second win of the season in the event which offers the biggest prize fund, at Foshan Golf Club, from October 24-27.

His first European Challenge Tour victory came on home soil, at the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open in June, while Perez claimed the Alfred Dunhill Links – the first rookie winner at St Andrews, last month.

And after securing his European Tour playing privileges in Hainan, Roussel now has his eye on being crowned Road to Mallorca No. 1, a posiition currently occupied by Italian Francesco Laporta, the winner in Hainan.

Rouseel knows his form from 2019 could provide a vital platform for next season.

Robin said: “We have seen Victor Perez, Robert MacIntyre, Romain Langasque and some others, like Sebastian Soderberg, play well this year.

“It brings me a lot of confidence because it shows that everybody who jumped from Challenge Tour to the European Tour can perform straightaway.

“To win the Road to Mallorca would mean a lot because it obviously means you’re the one at the top at the end of the season.

“It means that you can perform in the biggest events of the season, which means a lot because it means you can be clutch in the right moments.

“The last three events are the three biggest so if you want to finish well in the rankings then you need to finish strongly in these events.

“I have been really looking forward to these last three because if you finish in the top five on the rankings, then you have to play well in these last three events.”

A year ago in Foshan, MacIntyre and Perez both holed very long putts on the 72nd hole – MacIntyre for eagle and Perez for birdie – to reach a play-off, which the Frenchman won to move up from outside the top 15 to second on the money list.

With a cheque for $70,000 available to this week’s winner there is everything to play for those who occupy the top 15 places, which are separated by 55,000 points.

Germany’s Alex Knappe could – depending on the finishing positions of other players – move from 89th on the Road to Mallorca to the cusp of the top 15 with a win in China so there is plenty to play for in the Foshan Open.

It represents a week which could transform a whole season.

Hampshire’s Richard Bland – the oldest player inside the top 15 who will earn their full European Tour card for 2020 at 46 years old – is currently in fifth place.

The Stoneham GC member won the Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2001, his only victory in 21 years on Tour.

Bland has had three runner-up places and a third this year, his most successful in six full seasons on the Challenge Tour, and is looking to earn promotion back to the European Tour for a fourth time.

Scotland’s Calum Hill – winner of the Made in Denmark and Euram Bank Open – is in fourth, while Lancashire’s Jack Senior, who finished first in the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, in August, is sixth going into the Foshan Open.

All three have realistic ambitions of claiming the top spot.

That trio will be looking to close the gap on Laporta and Roussel this week, while other Home Nation players – Cormac Sharvin, from Northern Ireland, in eighth place, Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan (10th), Scotland’s Conor Symes (13th), and Welshman Oliver Farr – the recent winner in Morocco – who occupies the crucial 15th spot, can all take a big step towards wrapping up their card for 2020.

Twenty-eight-year-old Roussel is experiencing the end-of-season ‘Chinese Swing’ for the first time and has been impressed thus far, particularly with the organisation of each event.

“I have enjoyed my time in China so far,” Roussel said. “Last week was amazing on Hainan Island and I just arrived here in Foshan on Monday.

“I played the course for the first time and it is a lovely course. I heard this event was so well-organised and I have witnessed it since I’ve been here. I’m enjoying it very much.”

This week offers players the final opportunity to book their place at the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca.

Only the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca rankings at the conclusion of the Foshan Open will tee it up in the event, meaning the plethora of players currently outside that mark have it all to do this week to secure a spot in the field.

Somerset’s Laurie Canter occupies the crucial 45th place while Essex’s Todd Clements is currently ranked 46th on the Road to Mallorca.

Canadian Aaron Cockerill, who has three top 10 finishes in his last four starts, sits in 47th place.

On the bubble in the 50s are Lincolnshire’s David Coupland (53rd), former Amateur Champion Garrick Porteous (57th) Walton Heath’s David Boote (58th), and Kent’s Matt Ford (59th), who all need a good week to qualify for the season finale.

To see the current Road to Mallorca rankings click here.

The 2019 Foshan Open will begin at 6.55am local time tomorrow (Thursday), with Dutchman Wil Besseling, Simon Hawkes and Wiltshire Ben Stow getting the action under way from the 10th tee, while Roussel will begin his tournament at 7.45am from the first.

•For live scoring in Foshan click here.

The post Roussel eyes top spot on the Road to Mallorca but pack are closing at Foshan Open appeared first on Golf North.

Canadian Aaron Cockerill shares the lead at the Stone Irish Challenge after a five-under par 67, after a run of good results on in Morocco. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

AARON Cockerill’s red-hot form has travelled from Morocco to Ireland and he will take a share of the lead into day two at the Stone Irish Challenge.

The Canadian, who has jumped from 97^th to 50^th on the Road to Mallorca rankings over the past three tournaments, carded a five-under par 67 to sit atop the leaderboard.

He shared the lead alongside Somerset’s Laurie Canter, Spaniard Emilio Cuartero Blanco and Dutchman Daan Huizing.

The round was the first trip Cockerill made around the difficult Headfort New course, after he spent the early part of the week working to make travel arrangements for the upcoming Hainan Open following his last three results of tied 17^th, tied fifth and tied seventh, which earned him a place in the limited field.

“This course is pretty demanding off the tee, and I hadn’t played a practice round because I’ve been trying to figure out my visa, but maybe that was a good thing because there were fewer things to think about,” said Cockerill.

It can often be a fine line between success and failure in professional golf, and the 27-year-old believes the key to his current form comes from being on the good side of those narrow margins.

“I’ve made a lot of cuts, but I just hadn’t had a lot of high finishes,” Cockerill added. “It’s not that big of a difference between finishing 40^th and finishing 15^th.

“It’s a couple things here or there, maybe one less bad drive or making the odd putt, just very minor stuff.

“I’ve kind of been around the lead for the last month it feels like so I’m getting a bit more comfortable and my game is feeling good.”

Asked if he puts much stock into his position on the leaderboard after one round, the Winnipeg native said he has learned his lesson over the years.

“I used to, and that’s when I would shoot 75 in round two or three and be out of it, but not anymore.

‘Now I just take it shot by shot, as simple as that sounds, that’s what has been working for me, just worry about the next one.”

With only the top 45 players qualifying for the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final, Cockerill has sprung to life at the perfect time.

But he will have to hold off his peers who he shares the lead with and a host of players within striking distance.

Dublin resident Cormac Sharvin, who occupies the eighth position on the Road to Mallorca, sits only two shots back of the leaders after carding a three-under par 69.

And he is joined by former European Tour winner Michael Hoey, from Northern Ireland, who also carded an opening round 69 of his own to take a share of tenth place.

The opening round of the Stone Irish Challenge was suspended due to darkness, however with only one group left to finish, the final group will complete play on Friday morning at 8.45am.

Tee times for round two will remain unaffected. Follow live scoring here.

The post Why Canadian Cockerill won’t be crowing despite leading Stone Irish Challenge appeared first on Golf North.

ESSEX’S Todd Clements holds a one-shot lead after the weather-delayed second round of the Challenge Tour’s innovative ISPS Handa World Invitational with a separate men and women’s tournament being staged side by side for the first time in Europe.

Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow (pictured) and Manon De Roey are leading the way in the women’s section of the innovative tournament presented by Modest! Golf Management, being staged in Northern Ireland.

In a race to finish his round before nightfall, Clements posted four birdies in his opening nine holes at Galgorm Castle Golf Club before defying the challenging scoring conditions to come back in level par

That secured his place at the top of the leaderboard for the first time in the 2017 English Amateur Champion’s short professional career on seven-under.

Clements said: “I’ve played great over the last couple of days. The putts have been dropping and it’s the first time I’ve been out in the lead over the weekend.

“So it’s a new experience and I’m just going to learn,” said the Braintree GC member, who is coached by Surrey’s former teenage prodigy Zane Scotland.

“It’s been tricky with the weather, as everyone knows,” added Todd, who won the English Amateur title at The Berkshire two years ago.

“With the suspensions you’ve just got to stay patient and it’s a mental battle more than anything else for me.

“It’s wet, it’s soft and it plays to my strengths, which is great,’ said Clements.

“It was a bit of a rush at the end to get in before it got too dark. I had a six-footer for par on the last and it horseshoed on me.

“Will I regret that over the weekend? Who knows.

“I’m just going to keep learning, keep doing what I’m doing, it’s the same strategy and hopefully it all comes together for me.”

Despite bogeying his final hole, the 22-year-old will begin his third round at Galgorm Castle with a narrow advantage over four players.

That includes Scotland’s two-time European Challenge Tour winner Calum Hill, Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, Somerset’s Laurie Canter and Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who sit one shot back on six-under.

Canter, the winner of both the South African Strokeplay and Spanish Amateur titles, said: “Honestly, I had so much fun out there today.

“It’s been a tough few years where I’ve been struggling to find my game, so it’s great to be back in contention again.

“I wasn’t really thinking about too much out there. I’ve come into this event off the back of a three-week break and a trip to Ibiza and instead of getting bogged down in my thought process I just went and played golf.

“It was just really fun to be playing like that again and hoping for more of the same tomorrow,” added Canter, who is attached to Cumberwell Park, in Wiltshire and also won the Hampshire Hog at North Hants, and the West of England Strokeplay, as an amateur.

With nearly four inches of rain falling on the two co-hosting venues, Galgorm Castle and Massereene Golf Club, overnight and howling wind making for tough conditions, local star Meadow demonstrated why she is touted as one of Europe’s best talents with a two-under 70.

Meadow jumped ahead of overnight leader Ellie Givens, from Darlington, into a share of the top spot at the halfway stage on four-under.

Meadow, who represented Ireland in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, said: “My front nine definitely felt pretty tough.

“The wind was howling out there and the greens were a little firmer than I’d expected given how much rain we’d had so that was a bit of a learning curve throughout the round,” said Stephanie, who turned pro in 2014.

“The greens are rolling almost exactly the same at both venues so good job to the green staff for preparing the course that way.

“I’ve been close the last couple of days to doing something really nice, so I’m just going to go out tomorrow and keep doing more of the same stuff.

“It’s fantastic to be back in Northern Ireland, it’s actually my first professional event at home and the first tournament I’ve played in Ireland since 2013,” said Meadow who played in two Curtis Cups in 2012 and 2014.

“I can’t tell you how much it means for all these people to come out and watch me.

“I make a putt and there’s lots of claps and the lots of hugs at the end and just genuine joy from people to see me out here competing,” added the former University of Alabama golfer.

“It doesn’t matter if I win or don’t win they’re behind me so it’s very special and I’m very touched,” added Meadow, who secured his first win on the Symetra Tour in the USA, last year.

The Northern Irish player is joined at the summit of the leaderboard by De Roey, who added a one-under 71 to her opening round of 70 for a four -under total.

De Roey is looking to add the ISPSA Handa title to the LET Access Tour title she clinched earlier in the summer.

The pair are one-shot clear of a seven-strong chasing pack which includes former World No. 1 amateur Leona Maguire, first-round leader Givens and Middlesex golfing legend Trish Johnson.

It was another day to remember for the Irish amateurs in the field, with Lauren Walsh carding a one-under par 72 at Galgorm Castle to head into the weekend of her first professional event just one shot off the lead.

Irish amateur Annabel Wilson said: “I’m not fazed by much, I made one poor swing off the first tee which led to a double.

“But I hit a lovely shot into two and then just moved on and didn’t think too much more about it.

“That’s just golf, it’s why you love it. My short game was great. I actually had chipped-in twice which is always helpful.

“I’m not much of a leaderboard watcher, maybe I’ll have a quick look tonight especially for the draw tomorrow and see who I might be playing with.

“It’s cool that Charley Hull is playing this week. We were on opposite ends of the draw so I haven’t seen her yet, I’d like to see her hit a ball before the end of the week.”

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Josh Hill showed plenty of guts as he fired a three-under par 67 at Massereene Golf Club, to sit in a share of 11th place.

That ensured Hill will contest the weekend at his home club alongside the stars of the European Challenge Tour.

For live scores click here

The post Former English Amateur champion Clements hits front on Challenge Tour appeared first on Golf North.