MARK LOFTUS LEADS WITH 69 IN TOUGH CONDITIONS AT CARDROSS

NEWS RELEASE
At the end of day one, Mark Loftus leads the fifth event on the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour held at Whitekirk Golf Club, near North Berwick.
Loftus, 32, attached to The Adam Hunter Golf Foundation based at Mearns Castle Golf Academy, shot a terrific three under par 69 in extremely tough conditions to hold a one-shot lead over John Henry of Clydebank and District Golf Club and local professional, Paul Wardell.
Loftus carded five birdies and had two bogeys at the third and the seventeenth, a tough par three.
Play was temporarily halted as the weather took a turn for the worse. Former Scottish PGA Champion, Loftus commented, “I am disappointed to have bogeyed the 17th hole, but obviously delighted to have finished under par in these conditions.”
Four players are a further shot back in third on 71, including another former Scottish PGA champion, David Orr of East Renfrewshire.
Braid Hill’s Paul McKechnie, who has won two of the previous four events on the Tour this year, cannot be ruled out from lifting a hat trick of titles. He is sitting menacingly on a level par 72.
Murrayfield’s Mark Kerr said after his four over par 76, “After getting through Qualifying School at Dundonald last week, I am delighted to be getting more competitive golf this week and I am hoping to attend the final event at Irvine in a couple of weeks time.”
Alan Tait, Tournament Director commented, “Given the conditions, we were delighted to get the first round played today, as at one point we thought completion would be unlikely. I was also amazed at the quality of scoring considering what the players faced out there today. ”
The draw for Day 2 can be viewed online at www.opticalexpresspgt.com/draw-and-results.html

OPTICAL EXPRESS PRO GOLF TOUR
Whitekirk Golf Club, East Lothian
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
69 Mark Loftus (Adam Hunter Golf).
70 John Henry (Clydebank and District), Paul Wardell (Whitekirk).
71 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), David Orr (East Renfrewshire), James McGhee (Duddingston), Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie).
72 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth), Neil Fenwick (Dunbar), Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills).
73 Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw), Chris Currie (Caldwell), Steve Johnson (Roxburghe), Steven Duncan (Carnoustie).
74 Stewart Savage (Dalmuir), Lorne Kelly, Graham Rankin.
75 Jamie Carver (unatt), Nigel Scott-Smith (Turnhouse).
76 Ben Irving, Fraser Grant (am), Craig Gordon (Edinburgh Golf Centre), Mark Kerr (Murrayfield).
78 Ian Redford, Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) (am), Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle), Carl Thompson.
79 Barry Campbell, Andrew McIntyre, Ed Wood (Crow Wood), Eric Ramsay (Carnoustie).
80 Jonathan Mallon, Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie).
81 Eric Walker.
82 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), David Roger (Windyhill), Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm).
NR John Gallagher (Swanston).