Joel Moscatel and Will Enefer share a one-stroke lead following a low-scoring opening round of the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle.
Spaniard Moscatel and Englishman Enefer both signed for eight under par rounds of 64, with South African duo Bryce Easton and Justin Harding one shot adrift on seven under.
Starting on the first, Moscatel quickly moved under par thanks to four birdies inside his opening five holes. The 28-year-old would pick up two more shots, on seven and eight, to move to six under as he made the turn.
After opening the back nine with three consecutive pars, Moscatel dropped his only shot of the day on 13. The Spaniard, however, responded strongly, picking up three shots in his final five holes to cap a fine day’s work.
“I’m really pleased,” he said.
“I played some good golf, and the one dropped shot was actually a really good shot, I just misjudged the rough slightly. I’m really pleased with the round overall and how I went about things.
“I wasn’t thinking about where the easier holes were. If you play well here, you can give yourself chances of birdie.”
Moscatel returned to the Road to Mallorca this year following a solitary season on the DP World Tour. Sitting 80th on the season-long Rankings with nine events to play, the Spaniard is hopeful this week in Ireland could be a turning point.
“A round like this is always nice,” he added.
“Playing like this gives you more confidence to kick on. You always want to play solid golf during the season but it’s a learning process and I’m trying to be better every single day.”
Enefer joined Moscatel at the top of the leaderboard after firing eight birdies, including five in a row on the back nine, in his bogey-free effort.
The Englishman sealed his breakthrough win in Cape Town earlier this season and will cement his promotion aspirations with a positive performance in Co. Meath this weekend.
“It was really solid today,” Enefer said.
“I hit a lot of good golf shots and scrambled nicely which kept the momentum.
“The wedge shot on 11 was nice and I played both par fives well which makes everything a little bit easier. The birdie on 14 was a pull so I stole another one there.”
Scotsman Calum Fyfe, England’s Chris Wood and Wilco Nienaber and MJ Viljoen from South Africa share fifth place on six under.
The second round of the Irish Challenge gets under way at 7:30am local time with Moscatel teeing off at that time alongside England’s George Bloor. Enefer tees off alongside South African Ryan van Velzen and Spain’s Santiago Tarrio at 8:40am.
