Fraser Mann gets best start of six Scots looking

for key of door to over-50s treasure trail

Carnoustie-born Fraser Mann fared best of the six Scots in action today (Monday) in the opening round of the European Senior Tour Final Qualifying School over the Pestana Resort’s Vale da Pinta course on Portugal’s Algarve region.
Musselburgh Golf Club’s professional, Mann, who pulled off the double whammy of winning the Northern Open and the Gleneagles Scottish professional championship in the same year, 2002, celebrates his 50th birthday on February 21 next year.
He is looking for the key of the door to a senior circuit where lie the opportunities to more than double and in a much shorter time, the £250,000 he has won on the Tartan Tour since he turned pro in 1979.
But only the top six at the end of four rounds this week will gain Category 6 membership to the European over-50s circuit. Those who finish seventh to 14th will gain Category 9b membership which means fewer playing opportunities.
With a field of 81 chasing so few places, a good start was essential this week and Mann got it with a two-under-par round of 69 to be joint 10th going into round 2
Mann birdied the first and eighth on his way to a two-under-par 32 for the first nine. He was to birdie all three par-5s after the turn and the first one, at the 10th, put him three under par for the day. But a double bogey 6 at the 11th undid almost all that good work and he had to work hard in balmy temperatures round the 72 degrees mark to birdie the 12th and the 16th, dropping a shot at the short 15th in matching the inward par of 37.
Kirkhill pro Duncan Williamson matched the par of 71 with halves of 33 and 38. He birdied the long second, short third, the sixth and long 11th but bogeyed the short fifth, seventh, 11th and 14th.
Glasgow’s Mike Miller had only one birdie, at the short third, in his 74 (35-39). Bogeys at the eighth, short ninth, short 15th and 18th leave him needing a very good second round get him into contention.
The same applies to Anglo-Scot Bill McColl, who had a 75 (38-37), and Dundee’s Steve Martin (38-38) and Aberdeen’s Peter Smith (35-41) who both had 76s
McColl had one birdie, at the long 12th, and five bogeys, four of them on the “easier” outward half.
Martin had dreadful start with a bogey at the short third and a double bogey at the next par-3 hole, the fifth. More shots went by the board at the short ninth and 11th before he pulled himself together to birdie the long 12th and short 15th, only to bogey the long 16th and 18th in a disappointing finish to a disappointing day.
Peter Smith, the top Scot among the qualifiers from last week’s Stage 1 eliminator on the Algarve, wasn’t going too badly when he turned in 35 with a birdie at the short third but shots dropped at the short fifth and short ninth.
Smith lost his way early on the inward half. He boged the long 10th, ran up a double bogey 6 at the 11th – slipped in abirdie 4 at the long 12th – but then sagged again with a bogey at the short 13th and another one at the 14th.
Germany’s Torsten Giedeon, who partnered Bernhard Langer to World Cup glory in 1990, fired a four under par 67 for a share of the first round lead with England’s Ricky Willison, a former Walker Cup player who had played on the European Tour.
Willison spent five years on the European Tour and European Challenge Tour in the early 1990s before quitting to concentrate of course design. He has spent the past four years as club professional at Ealing Golf Club and has not played competitively for over 10 years.
ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES

Par 71
67 R Willison (Eng), T Giedeon (Ger)
68 A Sowa (Arg), J Stuart (US), J Sallat (Fra), M Williams (Zim), G Davies (Wal), J Harrison (Eng), M Aparicio (Esp)
69 P Dahlberg (Swe), A Johnsson (Swe), T Burgoyne (Swe) , G Towne (US) , D Johnson (US), F Mann (Sco), M Donald (US), P Oakley (US)
70 G Ryall (Eng), J King (Eng), P Allan (Eng) ,
71 J Gould (Eng), R Morris (Eng), M Söderberg (Swe), S Cipa (Eng), D Williamson (Sco), G Gunn (Can), M Lord (Eng), G Banister (Aus)
72 C Grenier (Aut), M Gallagher (Eng) , J Seifert (Cze) , D Young (Eng), M Briggs (Eng), B Hardwick (Can), J Davila (Esp) ,
73 A Fernandez (Chi), R Masters (Eng) , R Uhlir (US), M Moreno (Esp), V Garcia (Esp), J Hall (Eng) , M Belsham (Eng) , C Acutis (Ita), J Mills (Eng) (am)
74 M Miller (Sco), F Dhondt (Bel), M Kierstenson (Eng) , D Rios (Arg) , S Stull (US), N Clarke (SAf), J Stansberry (US) , S Shields (Eng) (am), K Worm (Den) (am)
75 B Stevens (Eng) , I Mosey (Eng), V Bueno (Chi) , T Jones (USA), J Ackerman (SAf) , D Hammett (US), F Regard (Fra), P Dugeny (Fra) , B McColl (Sco), D Narveson (US) , S Van Vuuren (RSA) , J Hoskison (Eng)
76 P Smith (Sco) , S Martin (Sco), E Alessandrini (Ita), T Planchin (Fra), T Price (Wal), G Krause (Eng) , F Kiddie (Eng), M Deeley (Eng), S East (Eng) (am)
77 M Thomas (US), D Regan (Eng)
78 J Laforce (Can), S Bennett (Eng), S Bonham (Eng)
79 L Cooper (US)
80 C Linstead (Eng)

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