Sport

O'Connor shoots 68

Arnold O'Connor demonstrated the advantage of tournament experience with a masterly four-under-par 68 to lead the first round…

Thu Dec 09 1999 - 00:00

Arnold O'Connor demonstrated the advantage of tournament experience with a masterly four-under-par 68 to lead the first round of the European Seniors Tour qualifying school at Antalya on the Turkish riviera.

The former Irish matchplay champion posted a flawless card which included a run of four straight birdies around the turn at the tight, tree-lined Gloria resort course.

It opened up a two-shot advantage in his quest for a top-10 finish and full playing qualification next year.

O'Connor, a professional at the Elm Green Club, finished 55th in the Tour rankings in his fourth year as a senior and is seeking an improved playing category.

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He said: "My driver was my best club today. I kept it pretty straight between those trees out there and holed some useful putts. I would have settled for level par before I started so a 68 is a real bonus."

Despite a warm sun and windless conditions it was a struggle for most of the 153 starters, with only 12 breaking the par of 72 on both the Gloria and Nobilis courses.

One of those was Royal Dublin's Leonard Owens who shot a one-under 71 while there were level par rounds from Tommy Moran and Mick Murphy. The rest of the Irish contingent, Raymond Kane, Bryan Malone and Frank Gannon, left themselves with a bit to do after three over par rounds of 75.

England's Michael Steadman and Dan Rosengren from Canada shared the lead at Nobilis with two-under-par 70s.

European Seniors Tour: Qualifying School (Antalya, Turkey) - Leading first-round scores (British unless stated, Irish in bold):

Gloria Course: 68 - A O'Connor, 70 - D Good (Aus), J Tolhurst (Aus), 71 - F Randall (US), P Van Biljon (Rsa), L Owens, J Horton (USA), 72 - N Lynch, S Burden (US), D Vaughan, J Van Wagenen (US), T Moran, M Murphy, D Burd (Rsa), G Burrows, 75 - R Kane, B Malone, F Gannon.

Nobilis Course: 70 - M Steadman, D Rosengrenn, 71 - G Malm (USA), J King (USA), K Cox (USA), 72 - T Namikimaruyama (Jpn), F Hill, H Tahara (Jpn), J Bjornsson (Swe), G Brown, 73 - J Farmer, 77 - A Brooks, B Lockie, 78 - J Howie, R Sutherland, D McCart, G Gray.