An ace performance by David
Drysdale leads the Scots at
start of Euro Tour Q School

There's never a bad time to have a hole in one but the European Tour Final Qualifying School is a very good occasion in which to pull an ace out of the hat.
That's what Scot David Drysdale did today to help him chalk up a 68 in the first round of the six-day marathon test of nerve, golf and stamina over the red and green courses at PGA Catalunya, Gerona in north-east Spain.
Drysdale's ninth career hole in one with a five-iron came at the 185yd par-3 eighth hole and helped him reach the turn in five-under-par 31. Earlier he had birdied the third, the fourth and the seventh. His first of three bogeys arrived at the 10th but before he added to them with putting slips at the 16th and 18th, he had birdied the 12th and 15th.
The courses have different pars, one 71 and the other 72, which makes it difficult to compare one player's round with another.
As far as having the lowest score of the Scots, that honour goes to Fifer Peter Whiteford who posted a 67 (which is actually four under par for the course he was played) early in the day and could relax thereafter while most of the rest of the field of 156 players were locked into the struggle for the top 30 places available on the European Tour at the end of six rounds or 108 holes.
Former amateur star Lloyd Saltman only got into the Final Q School field by winning a seven-man play-off last Sunday morning. But he is off and running at PGA Catalunya with a 69, one ahead of Andrew McArthur.
Scottish amateur champion Callum Macaulay from Tulliallan, still playing as an amateur, dug in with a 71. He will officially turn pro after this tournament.

FIRST-ROUND SCORES
GREEN COURSE (Par 72, 7134yd)
66 Oskar Henningsson (Swe)
68 Federico Colombo (Ita), David Drysdale (Sco), Henrik Nystrom (Swe)
69 Dominique Nouailhac (Fra), Simon Thornton (Irl), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Dennis Kupper (Ger), Johan Wahlqvist (Swe)
70 Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Iain Pyman (Eng), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), Danny Willett (Eng), Jochen Lupprian (Ger), Garry Houston (Wal), Gary Clark (Eng), Julio Zapata (Arg)
71 Rory Hie (Ina), Richard Mcevoy (Eng), Andrew Coltart (Sco), Nathan Smith (USA)
John Parry (Eng), Callum Macaulay (Sco) (am), Matthew Mills (Eng), Francois Calmels (Fra), James Morrison (Eng), Sam Walker (Eng), Ake Nilsson (Swe), Greig Hutcheon (Sco), Anthony Summers (Aus), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par)
72 Lee S James (Eng), Anders Kristiansen (Nor), Peter Richardson (Eng), Chris Wood (Eng), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Peter Baker (Eng), Gary Boyd (Eng), Adilson Da Silva (Bra)
73 Anthony Grenier (Fra), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita), Jan-Are Larsen (Nor), Gary Emerson (Eng), Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Leif Westerberg (Swe), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Benjamin Miarka (Ger)
74 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Cesar Monasterio (Arg), Andreas Hogberg (Swe), Ally Mellor (Eng), Jamie Little (Eng), Matthew Millar (Aus), Florian Fritsch (Ger)
75 Matthew Cryer (Eng), Stuart Davis (Eng), Scott Henry (Sco) (am), Tobias Dier (Ger), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Liam Bond (Wal), Jamie Moul (Eng)
76 Malcolm Mackenzie (Eng), Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut), Robin Swane (Ned), Andrew Crux (Eng), Craig Lee (Sco)
77 Marcel Haremza (Ger), Graham Gordon (Sco), Andrew Oldcorn (Sco), James Ruth (Eng), Guy Woodman (Eng), Sven Struver (Ger), Matthew Morris (Eng)
78 Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha), Andrew Tampion (Aus)
79 Philip Golding (Eng), Darren Fichardt (Rsa)
RED COURSE (Par 71, 6612yd)
66 Wade Ormsby (Aus), Inder Van Weerelt (Ned), Branden Grace (Rsa), Marco Ruiz (Par)
67 Peter Whiteford (Sco), Julien Quesne (Fra), Simon Griffiths (Eng), Jonathan Caldwell (NIrl), Carlos Aguilar (Spa), Stuart Manley (Wal), James Kamte (Rsa), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Tony Carolan (Aus), Michael Curtain (Aus)
68 Marc Cayeux (Zim), Roland Steiner (Aut), Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra), Gerald Gresse (Bel), Michael Hoey (NIrl), Roope Kakko (Fin), Nicola Maestroni (Ita), John Mellor (Eng), Manuel Quiros (Spa)
69 Rolf Muntz (Ned), Julien Grillon (Fra), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Jens Dantorp (Swe), Brett A Taylor (Eng), Alex Haindl (Rsa), Chris Gane (Eng), Adrien Bernadet (Fra), Juan Abbate (Arg), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Michael Mcgeady (Irl), Robert Coles (Eng), Michele Reale (Ita), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Lloyd Saltman (Sco), Nicolas Meitinger (Ger), Joakim Backstrom (Swe)
70 Ben Evans (Eng), Santiago Luna (Spa), Andrew McArthur (Sco), Ben Mason (Eng), Sion E Bebb (Wal), Gareth Paddison (Nzl), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), David Carter (Eng), Carl Suneson (Spa)
71 Scott Hend (Aus), Ian Garbutt (Eng), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Dale Whitnell (Eng), Warren Bennett (Eng), Petter Bocian (Swe), Sebastian L Saavedra (Arg), Gary Marks (Eng), Anthony Snobeck (Fra)
72 Van Phillips (Eng), Steven Jeffress (Aus), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Gareth Davies (Eng), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Carlos Del Moral (Spa)
73 Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Oscar Floren (Swe), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Andrew Butterfield (Eng), Benjamin Alvarado Chi
75 Pedro Linhart (Spa), Jarrod Moseley (Aus), Javier Colomo (Spa), Christopher Hanell (Swe), Jordi Garcia Pinto (Spa), Chris Doak (Sco)
76 Raphael De Sousa (Swi), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Jaakko Makitalo (Fin)