Chris Kelly three shots off pace

on opening day of PGA EuroPro

Tour at Northampton

By ANTHONY LEAVER
PGA EuroPro Tour Press Officer.
Scot Chris Kelly, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, with a 71, is three strokes behind tournament leader Richard Edginton at the end of the opening day of the first event on the 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour at Collingtree Park, Northampton. Edginton leads the field by one stroke at four under par 68, having been three under after 13 holes with an eagle and three birdies in his round before he added a fourth birdie at the last to sneak ahead of Cian McNamara and Chris Evans in second spot.
Irishman McNamara (Limerick) started his round on the back-nine with a birdie on the 10th, and went out level before birdies at the second, seventh and ninth holes contributed to a fine first round 69.
Like Edginton, Evans (Stonebridge GC) eagled the ninth but had back to back birdies at 16 and 17 to thank as he joined McNamara behind the leader.
Sky Bet are the official bookmakers of the Tour for 2009 and they will be watching the progress of Simon Lilly nervously. The 2004 EuroPro Tour Order of Merit winner was a 70-1 shot for the tournament and that was a price the locals liked the look of.
The Wellingborough man was backed into 33-1 joint favourite and is sitting pretty in a group of six players at two under, thanks to four birdies on the front nine after starting his round on the 10th and going out two over par.
Francis McGuirk (Princes GC), Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park), Jason Levermore (Clacton-on-Sea), Chris Hanson (Crossland Heath) and Matthew Evans (Rotherham GC) join Lilly at two under par.
Evans produced a fine comeback to sit just behind the pacesetters, after starting his round on the back nine with two bogeys. The Rotherham man gained a shot back with a birdie on the second before a birdie-eagle finish saw him turn his indifferent start on its head.
McGuirk also began his round at the tenth and went out at two under par, which became three under with a birdie at the first. He followed that with a double bogey on the third but his fourth birdie of the day on his final hole left him at two under. Surry’s round of 70 was a calm affair, with three birdies from the ninth following a solitary dropped shot at the eighth.
Levermore managed five birdies in his 70 with a double bogey at the fifth and a bogey at 15 costing him. Hanson was one over after five but recovered well with three birdies to shoot 70.
Full first round scores and live scoring is available at http://www.europrotour.com/ via the Score Updates link on the homepage – the second round begins at 7.30am on Thursday.
SCOTS' FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
Chris Kelly 71 -1
John Gallagher 72 Level
Jack Doherty 72 Level
Paul Doherty 73 +1
Graham Gordon 74 +2
*Elliot Saltman 74 +2
Duncan Stewart 76 +4
Graeme Brown 76 +4
Shaun McAllister 76 +4
Kenneth Glen 77 +5
Christopher Campbell 78 +6
Steven Hume 80 +8
Barry Hume 84 +12
Zack Saltman 86 +14
*Elliot Saltman won the curtain-raising pro-am on Tuesday by one stroke with a four-under-par 68.