EUROPEAN TOUR: Simon Thornton and John Kelly led the way among the 18-strong Irish contingent after the opening round at the second stage of European Tour qualifying in the south of Spain yesterday.
Royal County Down's Thornton shot a five-under-par 67 at Arcos Gardens to lie in a share of second spot, one shot off the lead held by former European Tour winner Santiago Luna on a wet and windy day in Jerez.
South County's Barrie Trainor signed for a one-under 71, Stackstown golfer Mark Campbell came in one shot further back, while Mark Murphy carded a one-over 73
Kelly, from the St Margaret's club in Dublin, fired a five-under 67 for a share of fourth spot at Costa Ballena. It still left him five shots off the lead after highly-talented Spanish teenager Jordi Garcia Pinto shot a blistering 10-under-par 62, which featured two eagles and six birdies.
Lurgan's Gareth Shaw was also sub-par after a two-under 70, with Alan Murray on level after a 70. Birr's Justin Kehoe was well down the field after an opening 75.
Douglas' Peter O'Keeffe was the best of the Irish at Montemedio, his two-under 70 leaving him in a tie for ninth spot, three shots behind the leaders.
Jonathan Caldwell and Richard Kilpatrick were also in the top-20 after one-under-par rounds of 71.
But Daniel Sugrue, after a 78, and Mark Staunton (81) will have their work cut out after poor starts.
At Sherry Golf, Eddie Barr shot a level-par 72 for a tie of 17th spot, with Waterville's David Higgins a shot further back.
Esker Hills amateur Shane Lowry was three-over after a 75, with Colm Moriarty (76) and Noel Fox (79) down the field.
Seventy-eight places in next week's final stage of qualifying are available to the 309 golfers taking part.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Pablo Larrazabal has capped a magnificent maiden season on the European Tour by winning the Henry Cotton rookie of the year award.
Larrazabal (25), becomes the fourth Spaniard to receive the award, following Jose Maria Olazabal in 1986, Sergio Garcia in 1999 and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in 2005.
He won his first European Tour title in the French Open after earning his place in the tournament through a 36-hole pre-qualifying event.
Larrazabal, who finished 18th on the Order of Merit, said: "Obviously the main reason I won the award was for winning the French Open and I'll never forget that victory.
"It's an amazing honour because there are so many great young players on tour today.
"If you look at some of the players who have won the award in the past, you get an idea of how big an honour this is."
