Richard Coughlan and David Higgins made sound starts, and former European Under-25 champion Stephen Hamill shot 69 to force himself among the leaders when the PGA European Tour Qualifying School began on the Costa del Sol yesterday.

Coughlan (23), from Birr, Co Offaly, who has just turned professional after playing in the 1997 Walker Cup match, had four birdies in a 71 at Guadalmina, where the leaders, on five-under-par 67, were Australian Darren Cole and Indian Jeev Milkha Singh.

Hamill's 69 on the same course gave him a share of fourth place in a group that contained Michael Campbell and Gary Nicklaus.

Higgins, who produced a dazzling, mid-round burst of seven successive threes, also had 71 at Guadalmina, but ought to have done better, for he dropped shots at both the par five 17th, and short par four 18th.

Milltown's Francis Howley birdied the four long holes at San Roque to hand in a solid opening 71, but for Ballybunion's Sean Quinlivan it was a nightmare first day at the School. He had a terrible time on the greens at San Roque, counting 38 putts in his six-over-par 78.

Coughlan is one of several players attempting to win both US Tour and European Tour cards in the closing weeks of the 1997 season. Last week he safely negotiated the second stage of the American test, and will be returning to Florida for the finals in Orlando in the first week of December.

He gave a confident performance, despite dropping an early shot at the fourth, where he was bunkered, and losing two more to the card at the 13th and 14th, by going through the greens.

A chip-and-putt birdie four at the seventh, and a putt of 25 feet on the next green got him out in 35, and then he struck back again with successive birdies at the 15th and 16th, where he holed out from 20 feet, then wedged over a bunker to within four feet of the flag.

"Things went well and I am very happy with that start, although I did not like the course very much," he commented. Today he will play his second round at San Roque, as the two halves of the field of 180 change courses.

Hamill (31), is currently teaching at the Allen Park Club in Antrim. "I thought I would have another go at getting on the Tour because I miss the competition," he remarked. Five birdies showed he has not lost his scoring touch, and not one of his putts was from more than six feet.

His only mistakes were to overhit to the fourth green, and strike a tree with his drive in taking six at the long 16th.

Higgins was one over par after seven holes, but then notched his first birdie from 25 feet at the eighth, and followed with a par at the short ninth to turn in 36. He had threes at the first five inward holes, three of them birdies, to rush to three-under-par on the 14th tee.

A chip-in at the 10th was followed by pitches to close range at the 12th and 13th, and then he parred the short 14th. But that was the end of the heroics as the Waterville youngster failed with three successive chances from under 10 feet, then lost his concentration on the last two holes. He hit a tree from the 17th tee and missed the green with an eight-iron third shot, then bunkered his pitch to the final flag.

Jim Carvill (31), who has been playing on the Mastercard Tour this season under the sponsorship of Dominic Quinn's Bar-One Racing company, had a two-over-par 74 at Guadalmina, as did the Worcester-based Cameron Clark, while Kent-based John Murray took 75.

Clark was born in Ballymena, and has an Irish mother. For that reason he has signified that if he reaches international status he would prefer to play for Ireland, rather than his country of residence.

Carvill managed birdies at the fifth and 15th, while Clark (23), overcame the shock of double bogeys at two short holes with a bag of four birdies, three of them at long holes.

They too will be at San Roque in the second round, while Howley and Quinlivan switch to Guadalmina, where the latter gets the chance to make amends for the three putts he took in taking a seven at the fifth, and the four he needed to hole out in six at the long 10th after getting on to the green with a drive and four-wood.