Qualifying School: Colm Moriarty's bid to earn a full European Tour card for the new season got off to a purposeful start in the qualifying school finals on Spain's Costa del Sol.
While Robert Coles surged to the head of the field with a six-under 66, Moriarty finished four shots off the pace with a battling two-under 70 on San Roque's New Course.
However, the three other Irish challengers in the field made indifferent openings to their campaigns with amateur Peter O'Keefe the next best on two-over while Michael McGeady, Damien Mooney and Stephen Browne a shot further back.
The 155 hopefuls in southern Spain are battling for just 30 spots on next year's tour. The top 70 will progress to a final two rounds after Sunday in the 108 hole marathon.
Coles celebrated the birth of his first child by carving out a six-under 66 which included a haul of seven birdies.
The 32-year-old leads by two shots from Portugal's Tiago Cruz, Rolf Muntz of Holland, Austrian Roland Steiner and Swedish duo Christian Nilsson and Fredrik Orest.
"It's a terrific start," said Coles, whose son, Niall, was born just over a month ago. "I have worked hard on my putting over the last two weeks and it really paid off today."
