Scots enjoy promising opening day at Q-School

CALLUM Macaulay was among those pleased about his day’s work as a clutch of Scots got off to encouraging starts in the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School in southern Spain.

Amateur James White took pride of place with a six-under-par 65 at El Valle, where Macaulay took just one shot more to also sit inside the top 10 after the opening round.

Elliot Saltman’s four-under 67 left him handily placed at Las Colinas, while Jack Doherty is leading the sizeable Scottish contingent at Costa Ballena after a three-under 69.

Macaulay, bidding to get back on the European Tour after a two-year stint on the Challenge Tour, was rewarded for his decision to change his putting grip in mid-round.

“I had loads of chances on the front nine but, instead of being four or five-under, I was only out in one-under,” said the former Scottish Amateur champion.

“So I decided to change to an interlocking grip on the tenth green and stuck with it after holing from six feet there.”

The Team Scottish Hydro player added further birdies at the 12th, 13th and 16th and wasn’t too downhearted about missing a chance at the last to join White on the six-under mark.

“You can’t win an event like this on the opening day but you can knock yourself out of it, so I’m delighted with my start,” added Macaulay. “It’s a case of trying to build on it now and this course certainly suits my eye. You’ve got to hit it well off the tee and that’s my strong point.”

White, this year’s Scottish Order of Merit winner, stormed home in 30 as he finished the day in joint third place, two behind Swedish pacesetter Joakim Lagergren. Saltman, trying to win his card back after finishing outside the top 200 on the money list, signed for six birdies to sit a shot off the pace on a jam-packed leaderboard at Las Colinas.

Shaun McAllister (69) and Mark Kerr (70) also broke par there, as Doherty, Philip McLean (70), Raymond Russell (71) and Scott Hendry (71) did at Costa Ballena. At La Manga, Neil Fenwick and Gavin Dear are both sitting outside the top 30 after rounds of 73 and 74 respectively.

l James Byrne made the halfway cut in the BMW New Zealand Open after bouncing back from his opening 79 with a battling 70 in the second round. The Scot looked set for an early exit at Christwater Golf Club in Christchurch after slipping to seven-over but dug deep to post birdies at the third, fourth, fifth, and 11th to sit in joint-49th.

l Little-known American Will Claxton had edged into a one-shot lead after the second round of the PGA Tour’s final qualifying school in California. Claxton added a 70 to an opening 64 to move to ten-under, with Matt Jones and Harris English his closest pursuers.