O’Hara best of bunch as Scottish contingent toil

ALL five Scottish players endured a tough opening day in the Mogador Open as the EPD Tour, which teed off the year in Turkey, started its Moroccan swing over the Gary Player- designed Golf de Mogador in Essaouira.

Only Motherwell’s Paul O’Hara, the younger brother of European Tour player Steven, managed to break 80 as Germany’s Christoph Gunther set the pace in the 54-hole event with a four-under-par 68.

O’Hara, who had warmed up for the six-event trip to North Africa by firing a four-under-par 66 for an eight-shot win in the West Alliance at West Kilbride, is nine strokes behind after a 77 that included a double-bogey 6 at the ninth.

Jordan Findlay, the former British Boys’ champion from Fraserburgh, and fellow north-east man Ross Cameron both signed for 81s, one less than Peterhead’s Philip McLean and three better than Aberdonian David Law.

Findlay had two triple-bogey 7s in his last four holes, while Cameron started by dropping three shots and then let two more slip at the beginning of his back nine.

Three double-bogeys on the way out did the damage for McLean, with double Scottish champion Law dropping six shots in four holes from the sixth as he reached the turn in a costly 44.

Another of Scotland’s rookie professionals, James Byrne, returns to action later this week on the Asian Tour after securing a visa to travel to India from his base in Singapore for the Sail Open in New Delhi.

The Banchory man is aiming to bounce back from a “tough week” in the Philippine Open a fortnight ago, when he just made the cut after playing the wrong ball in a second-round 80 to follow a promising 70.

He then closed with scores of 82 and 79 to finish second last among the qualifiers. “I need to focus,” admitted Byrne after that learning experience.

Meanwhile, Sally Watson finished joint seventh in a field of 70 players despite a disappointing second and final round of seven-over 78 in the Peg Barnard Invitational women’s college tournament over her home course at Stanford University, California at the weekend.

The Edinburgh-born golfer, a Curtis Cup player in 2008 and 2010, was joint second after an opening par-matching 71. Had she been able to repeat that score of even have a 72 or 73, Watson would have won the tournament.

But she had double bogeys at the long seventh and par-4 15th, and managed only one birdie, at the long 12th.

Watson’s total of seven-over-149 saw her finish four strokes behind the joint winners, Emily Childs (California) (71-74) and Christine Uhalde (Fresno State) (70-75) on 145.