Low scoring in Spanish Open's first day

'Callum Macaulay is looking more

and more like the next big thing

in Scottish professional golf '

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE:
Danish Ryder Cup player Søren Hansen broke the PGA Golf Catalunya course record with a nine under par 63 in the opening round of the Open de España, Girona - despite starting with a double bogey.
An hour after Frenchman Thomas Levet had equalled the old mark set by England's Peter Baker nine years ago, Hansen completed one of the most remarkable rounds of his career.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "I hit an awful opening drive and it looked like a miserable day, but I came back with some great golf."
The 25-year-old from Copenhagen, part of Nick Faldo's side in Louisville last September, came back from his first-hole 6 with birdies on the next two holes, then finished the outward half with three more to turn in 33.
After that came one of only two eagles all day at the 527 yard 12th, another hat-trick of birdies from the 14th and one more on the 449yd last, despite driving into a fairway bunker.
“It’s a great honour to beat the course record in a course like PGA Golf Catalunya. I’m impressed with the course. This is a great test of golf, a course where if you don’t get it right you can do badly,” he added.
Levet is alone in second, one ahead of Spaniard José Manuel Lara and also Callum Macaulay(pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency) who is looking more and more like the next big thing in the Scottish game.
Five years ago Levet played in a winning Ryder Cup side in America, but after that had a nightmare time battling vertigo. He spent months out of the game and feared for his future.
"You always think about not coming back, but what kept me going was that I was always improving," said the 40 year old.
"I never got desperate to the point where I thought I was done. The doctor said it was curable in six months to a year and for me it was seven months."
He won last year's Andalucian Open in Marbella and added: "Now everything is behind me and I don't think about it anymore."
His score was based on his playing of the par-5s. Levet was on the green in two at all four, birdied the third and at the 542yd seventh sank an 8ft eagle putt.
Last season Macaulay won the Scottish amateur championship (match-play) at Carnoustie - as Colin Montgomerie did at Nairn back in 1987 - and then starred for Scotland in their astonishing nine-stroke victory at the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team championship in Australia.
The 25 year old from Falkirk, whose family home is at Kincardine, was second leading individual in the Eisenhower Trophy behind American Rickie Fowler and then came through a 252-hole marathon to earn his European Tour card.
That finished on the same Spanish course where this week's event is taking place and Macaulay showed his liking for it again with eight birdies.
Not that it was the first time on the circuit he has had such a haul. In Madeira six weeks ago he took second place after eight in the last nine holes - including all the last six.
"I am loving it on the European Tour. There's nowhere else I'd rather be," said Macaulay, whose father Harry is his caddie.
"Madeira gave me a lot of confidence. I'd had a mental block before - I was getting to three under, but couldn't get to four - and I'm delighted with the way everything is going.
"My putter got hot and I suppose it's a minor advantage coming back to a course I already liked."
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S SCOTSWATCH:
Callum Macaulay, who birdied the first, third, fourth, seventh, ninth, 12th, 15th and 16th and had only one bogey, at the fifth, in halves of 32 (four under par) and 33 (three under par) spearheaded a good opening day for the Scots.
Paul Lawrie, David Drysdale and Gary Orr each hit the 68 mark. Lawrie birdied the first, second, fourth, seventh, eighth and 15th with two bogeys, at the fifth and 18th, in halves of 32 and 36.
Drysdale had an eagle 3 at the third and birdies at the fifth, sixth and 15th with one bogey, at the 13th, in halves of 32 and 36.
Orr had had bogey-free 68, studded with birdies at the first, 11th, 12th and 15.
Chris Doak and Richie Ramsay ended the day in joint 25th position on 69.
Doak had birdies at the first, third, 14th, 15th and 16th with two bogeys, at the 13th and 18th, in halves of 35 and 34.
Ramsay had birdies at the seventh, eighth, 10th and 15th and just one bogey, at the 13th, in halves of 34 and 35.
Stephen Gallacher got under par too with a 71 while Colin Montgomerie and Steven O'Hara finished on level par 72.
Alastair Forsyth had a 74 and Andrew Coltart a 75.