Chris Doak gets measure of Scottish PGA hours after Rome disqualification

The former Tartan Tour No 1 highlighted an opening four-under-par 67 over the King's course with a pair of eagles as he finished in a share of third, two shots behind pacesetter Craig Lee.

Doak should have been on European Challenge Tour duty this week but was disqualified from the Roma Open in the Italian capital during Wednesday's first round for using a GPS measuring device. The gadgets are allowed on the domestic PGA tour but remain outlawed on the European circuits.

Having not officially withdrawn from the Scottish championship, Doak opted to catch a flight back from Rome on Wednesday and make a late dash to Gleneagles but he arrived home at 1am minus his golf clubs. Despite the frenzied build-up, the former Northern Open winner made the most of his chance and lifted his spirits with a tidy round which included a 4-iron to a foot for an eagle-three on the sixth and a putt of 30-feet on the 14th for an eagle-2

"I'm used to using the GPS device on the Tartan Tour but you can't use them on the Challenge Tour," explained Doak. "It was just a mistake on my part and as soon as I clicked it I knew I'd be disqualified. I hadn't withdrawn from the Scottish PGA so I got the first flight I could but didn't arrive back until 1am. My clubs didn't appear at the airport so I just had to use a spare set that I've never had out of the box. In the end, it turned out not too badly but I was shattered."

Frontrunner Lee, feeling the physical effects of a hectic season that has involved playing on four different tours, reeled off seven birdies, including three in a row from the first, on his way to a sparkling 65 to lead by a shot from Edinburgh's David Patrick.

"It's been a tremendous season but the body is starting to show the signs and I have a sore neck and need to put my left wrist into ice," said Lee, whose hard work over the campaign has so far been rewarded with a place on next year's Challenge Tour, with the European Tour's qualifying school still to come. "Hopefully I can hang on in there for the next three days."

Patrick tucked himself into second place with a neatly assembled round that was bolstered by a pitch-in from 30 yards on the fourth as his bid to add the national title to the Scottish Young Professionals' crown he won earlier this year got off to a good start."That is something I would like very much but I'm going to have to earn it," he said.

Greig Hutcheon, the winner of the Northern Open last month, opened with a 67 but felt he should have been a few shots better off having missed eagle chances from six and ten feet respectively at the tenth and 14th.

"I've been using the yellow Srixon balls this year which are great and from around ten feet on the greens they give an optical illusion that the hole is actually bigger than it is," said Hutcheon, who can win the Tartan Tour's order of merit this weekend. "It didn't really work for me today though with the chances I missed."

Andrew Coltart, the Scottish champion in 1994, marked his first appearance in the national championship for 15 years with a 68 but he was left cursing a damaging run early on which included a double-bogey on the fourth and a lost ball on the sixth. "That really annoyed me and it starts to get frustrating when you make mistakes out of nothing," said the 40-year-old.

Defending champion David Orr, aiming to become the first player since Ross Drummond 20 years ago to win back-to-back crowns, had a day to forget and racked up a 76 which included an eight on the final hole.