EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT

McGrane and Goddard share lead on 64 at Penha Longa

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Ireland's Damien McGrane signed for an outstanding eight under par round of 64 to share the lead with English Amateur Champion Luke Goddard after the opening round of the Estoril Open de Portugal today.
The pair took full advantage of the calm afternoon conditions to card eight birdies without dropping a shot.
It left the duo - polar opposites in terms of European Tour experience - a shot clear of Wales' Stuart Manley and Norwegian Eirik Tage Johansen, the latter's round all the more impressive as it came during strong breezes and sporadic heavy showers in the morning at Penha Longa Golf Club on the Estoril coast.
McGrane had already picked up three shots when he reached the turn but he put the burners on down the back nine - making three gains in a row from the 11th.
And the 2008 Volvo China Open winner carded two more birdies at the 15th and 16th to equal the course record.
“I played solid from start to finish,” said McGrane. “I never really looked like making a bogey all day, and all the time you’re not dropping shots and looking like making birdies, it adds up to a good day’s work.
“It’s all about hitting fairways and greens out there, and giving yourself opportunities, which is what I did. The greens are fairly soft which always makes life easier, and if you manage to roll the ball well on the greens, then you can make a few putts.”
Goddard, a 22 year old from Henley Golf Club, was part of last year's Walker Cup side but failed to make the cut in his two previous European Tour outings.
But after starting on the tenth tee he eagled his second hole, turned in 32 and birdied his last four holes to match McGrane's bogey-free round
Goddard, who only got an invite to play on Monday and has his girlfriend Lucy on the bag, said: “I only missed three greens all day, but managed to get it up and down.
“I also holed some nice putts along the way, so it was a good day at the office. I was just plodding along really, but then my round seemed to explode with the four birdies on the trot at the end.”
Manley, who had football trials with Manchester United as a teenager, again demonstrated his best golf on Portuguese soil - he was the halfway leader at the 2008 Portugal Masters before Alvaro Quiros stormed through to take the title over the weekend.
Norwegian Johansen, who has yet to record a top ten finish on The European Tour, produced a sublime round of 65 in windy conditions.
The 28 year old, who has three times graduated from The European Tour Qualifying School, recorded two birdies to reach the turn in 34.
But it was on the back nine that he turned on the style, picking up shots on four consecutive holes from the 11th, adding another at the 16th, then responding to a bogey at the penultimate hole by pitching to three foot on the par five 18th for a sixth gain in eight holes.
"It was really good fun - I enjoyed it," said Johansen. "I was hitting it pretty close on the front nine, then on the back nine I started making some longer putts. So all in all, it was a pretty good day.
"The wind was swirling out there, particularly on some of the more exposed holes. But it's a well-designed course, and it's in great condition.
"The game feels pretty easy at the moment. So I'm just hoping the feeling lasts for the next three days. If it does, I think we're going to have a lot more fun out there. The key to good golf is enjoying it, and I certainly enjoyed myself today."
Two off the pace are England's Richard Bland and Australian Andrew Tampion.
"I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, and more often than not managed to take my chances with some nice putts. You don't get many stress-free days, but that was about as good as it gets," said Bland, looking for his first win in his eighth full season on The European Tour.
Tampion has only made the cut once so far this season, and was relieved by his return to form.
"I've been a bit down over the last few weeks and months, but this week I've come out here with a different thought process after my chat with Nick my sports psychologist, and it seems to have done the trick. I'm enjoying playing golf again, which is great," he said.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
64 Damien McGrane, Luke Goddard
65 Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Stuart Manley
66 Richard Bland, Andrew Tampion (Aus)
67 Carlos Del Moral (Spa), John Parry, Steve Webster, Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Richard Green (Aus), Bradley Dredge, Marcus Fraser (Aus)
68 James Mclean (Aus), Andrew Coltart, Fredrik Henge (Swe), Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Robert Coles, Marco Ruiz (Par), Robert Rock, Iain Pyman
69 Marco Soffietti (Ita), Chris Wood, Scott Drummond, David Lynn, Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Gary Lockerbie, Louis Moolman (Rsa), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Tano Goya (Arg), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
70 Anton Haig (Rsa), Nathan Smith (USA), Christian Nilsson (Swe), Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Ake Nilsson (Rsa), Liam Bond, Hugo Santos (Por), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Kenneth Ferrie, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger), Sam Little, Van Phillips
71 Chris Gane, Sion E Bebb, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Oliver Fisher, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Andre Bossert (Swi), Andrew McArthur, Daniel Brooks, David Horsey, Mark Brown (Nzl), James Ruebotham, Sam Hutsby, Gary Murphy, Ryan Blaum (USA), Andrew Marshall, Phillip Archer, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita)
72 Jamie Little, Soren Juul (Den), Peter Baker, Johan Axgren (Swe), Nuno Campino (Por), Marc Warren, Goncalo Pinto (Por), Santiago Luna (Spa), Miles Tunnicliff, David Hewan (Rsa), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Jan Are Larsen (Nor), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Gareth Paddison (Nzl), Antonio Dantas (Por), Ghislain Rosier (Fra), Keith Horne (Rsa), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Tom Whitehouse, Cesar Monasterio (Arg)
73 Paul Waring, Phillip Price, Simon Lilly, Michiel Bothma (Rsa), Scott Hend (Aus), Dale Whitnell, Alastair Forsyth, Markus Brier (Aut), Ricardo Santos (Por), Simon Thornton, Philip Golding
74 Chris Gaunt (Aus), Benn Barham, Graeme Storm, Alessio Bruschi (Ita), Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Paul Eales, Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Por), Bjorn Pettersson (Swe), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Johan Lopez Lazzaro (Fra), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Paul Broadhurst, Gary Clark, Carl Suneson (Spa), David Vanegas (Col), Mark Laskey
75 Joao Malagueira (Por), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), James Ruth, Darren Clarke
76 Henrique Paulino (Por), Tiago Cruz (Por), Dominique Nouailhac (Fra), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Miguel Gasper (Por), Steven O'Hara, Emanuele Canonica (Ita)
77 David Carter, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Antonio Sobrinho (Por), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Steen Ottosen (Den)
78 Andrew Butterfield
79 Nelson Cavalheiro (Por)
80 Mark Peddard
81 Daniel Wardrop
82 Antonio Rosado (Por)
83 Tomas Silva (Por)