Tulfarris professional Simon Thornton signed for a four-under par 68 to set the standard by two strokes atop the leaderboard after day one of The PGA Play-Offs at PGA National Slieve Russell.
A total of 21 PGA members took their chance on the opening day with the top-3 players from each region all fighting for lucrative DP World Tour and Challenge Tour starts at the £25,000 three-day event.
Thornton, who has one win to his name on the then European Tour in 2013, carded five birdies and just one dropped shot in a pleasing effort, not least off the back of a less than ideal prep run last week at The K Club.
“I played in The K Club which told me where my game’s at, which is not where today’s score is at,” Thornton said after shooting 77 last week.
“But I think when it comes to proper competitive golf, I’m quite good at focussing in on shot by shot, target by target. I hit a couple of sloppy shots but overall I’m delighted with how I played.”
Thornton was victorious on last year’s PGA EuroPro Tour and although he can’t dedicate the same time into his game as in previous years, the 45-year old would relish the opportunities that come with a big showing this week in Cavan.
“Listen, at this stage of my career and in life, anything’s a bonus so I’m just going out there and playing golf and seeing how we go,” Thornton added.
“I do love to play and compete at the highest level. Just sort of dip in and dip out and test yourself every now and then, so yeah, to get the spots would be great but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t.
“I’m just going to go play two more rounds of golf, add them all up at the end and see where I finish.”
Thornton leads a four-way tie for second after Waterville’s David Higgins, Renaissance Club’s Chris Doak, Torphins’ Greig Hutcheon, and Davenporth’s Jamie Howarth all recorded two-under 70s.
In-all, nine players broke par on day one with Daniel Brown and Michael Farrier-Twist (Seddlescombe Golf Club), Alister Balcombe (Weston Super Mare) and Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake) all posting one-under opening 71s.
Opportunity knocks for players this week; as well as a slice of the £25,000 prize fund on offer, further possible riches loom with this week's winner earning no fewer than seven DP World starts, including the British Masters at The Belfry and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Furthermore, the leading three eligible players from the 2022 PGA Play-Offs will automatically qualify for the 2022 Great Britain & Ireland PGA Cup team.
In the event of a tie for the final place, a ‘hole-by-hole’ play-off will be held to determine team places.
CLICK HERE to view a full list of scoring from the opening day of the PGA Play-Offs.
