Oliver Roberts admits last hole 'hurts' in first round of DP World Tour Q-School Final

Oliver Roberts admitted finishing with a double-bogey 7 had “hurt” after having the lead in his sights in the opening round of the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final in Spain.

Oliver Roberts in action during the first round of the DP World Tour's Qualifying School on the Lakes Course at Infinitum Golf in Tarragona, Spain. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images.

Roberts, who was born in London and grew up in Hong Kong but is a proud Scot, covered his opening 14 holes on the Lakes Course at Infinitum Golf in Tarragona in five-under-par after picking up birdies at the second, sixth, 10th, 11th and 14th.

He then dropped a shot at the par-4 15th, but it was the last hole that stung as he ended up having to settle for a two-under 69 in the first circuit of a six-round marathon.

“I played the first 14 holes really good in a tough wind and then didn’t finish the job off, unfortunately,” said Roberts, who won the Tartan Pro Tour’s Carnoustie Tour Championship last October. “I finished with a double, which hurts, but really good golf for the majority of the day, so really happy.”

The Stirling University graduate sits joint-29th in the battle for 25 DP World Tour cards, having already come through the opening two stages over the past few weeks.

“It would be life-changing,” admitted Roberts of giving himself a chance of sitting at the top table in European golf next season. “It’s a dream to play on the main tour and getting close is the goal this week.”

Daniel Young and Callum McNeill fared best among the seven Scots with matching three-under 68s on the Lakes Course, where four-time DP World Tour winner Marc Warren signed for the same score as Roberts.

Young, who secured a Challenge Tour card at the same venue after making the four-round cut in 2019, recovered from a bogey-bogey start to sign for a gutsy effort that contained five birdies while McNeill finished with three straight gains.

In a steady start, Warren mixed four birdies with two bogeys, with Craig Howie making birdies but having to settle for a 70 on the Lakes Course, where Ryan Lumsden fared the worst of the Scots with a 75.

Calum Fyfe, the only player among the Caledonian contingent, in action on the Hills Course in the first round, opened with a one-over 73 that was a solid effort apart from a blip at the 15th, where he ran up a triple-bogey 7.

Dane Jeppe Kristian Andersen will take a one-shot lead into the second round after posting a seven-under 64 on the Lakes Course. He carded nine birdies and two bogeys to climb to the sit one ahead of Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen.

Andersen, who played in last week’s Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A in Mallorca, reckons his ability to adapt to windy conditions was paramount to his success in round one.

“It was a very nice round of golf,” he said. “I played last week in Mallorca, so I am very used to the wind. The wind at the Lakes Course today was brutal and I just used my experience from last week."

Iceland’s Haraldur Magnus sits in third place on five-under in a group that also includes Welshman Jack Davidson and American Braden Thornberry.

Meanwhile, John Paterson and Rory Franssen are both on course to progress to the final stage of the Alps Tour Qualifying School in Italy.