Denis O’Sullivan finished the better of the two Irish players in OKI Castellón Senior Tour Championship – the European Senior Tour season finale - finishing with a one under par round of 71 to hold a share of 12th place on the opening day and five shots off the leader, Jose Rivero.
Des Smyth fared a few shots worse after five birdies, seven bogeys and then a double bogey on the 15th, to end the day with a 73 and card an one over par round on day one.
Former Ryder Cup player José Rivero fired an opening round six under par 66 to lead the OKI Castellón Senior Tour Championship by two shots as he looks to end the 2010 season on a high in his homeland.
The Spaniard is without a top ten finish this year but produced his lowest round of the campaign with a fine display of shot making around Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, which is hosting the European Senior Tour finale for the third consecutive year.
Rivero, who is one of three invites to the €400,000 event, missed only two fairways, carding seven birdies and only one bogey, which came on the closing hole when he found the rough and then pushed his approach shot into a greenside bunker.
The three-time Senior Tour winner has seen an improvement in his form in his last three events, posting his only two top 20 finishes of 2010 in the Cannes Mougin Masters (tied 16th) and Benahavis Senior Masters (tied 17th).
He attributed his position at the top of the leaderboard in Castellón to a similar improvement in fortune on the greens.
“I played very well today and my whole game was solid from tee to green,” said the 55 year old, who played in The Ryder Cup in 1985 and 1987. “I only missed two fairways, one of which was the 18th, which is a complicated hole and I made a five.
“The rest of the round my game was very good. I didn’t make many long putts, apart from a ten metre birdie on the 10th, but I seemed to hole a lot.
“Nothing has really changed in my game other than the putts went in today. In Benahavis and Cannes I played well but putted badly so that was the difference today.
“Hopefully I can continue over the weekend as I would love to end the season strongly and finish in a better position.”
Rivero is two shots clear of compatriot Juan Quiros and South African Chris Williams, who strengthened his Order of Merit chances with an opening round 68.
The man Williams is trying to overhaul, Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit, is in tied 20th position following a level par 72 which included a costly double bogey five on the 16th hole.
Ruangkit is currently €39,259 ahead of Williams in the Order of Merit and can guarantee the John Jacobs Trophy if he finishes inside the top three but looks like facing a stern examination from Williams, who is searching for his maiden Senior Tour title.
Williams, who was playing alongside his rival and defending champion Mike Harwood, made the perfect start with back-to-back birdies and after dropping shots on the fourth and seventh holes he hit back with birdies on the eighth, ninth, 13th and 17th holes.
He said: “It was great to start with two birdies and then I had a couple of hiccups but I’m happy with how it went today.
“I hit most of the greens out there today. It was difficult playing with Boonchu as your mind could play all sorts of games on you but I just tried to stick to my own game plan. He was unlucky with the double bogey on 16 as he just caught it a bit heavy then chose the wrong club but he’s a great player and rarely misses a fairway.
“He’ll be around the top ten at least so I know what I have to do and it is a good start.”
Sharing second place with Williams is Quiros, whose bogey-free back nine of 32 – which included back-to-back closing birdies – saw him also sign for a four under par 68.
Quiros produced a remarkable shot on the 14th when he removed his shoes and socks to play from the water hazard protecting the green and managed to save par against the odds.
“I almost broke the club as I hit it against stones in the stream but it was a very good shot and I managed to make my four,” said Quiros. “I wouldn’t have been surprised to have made seven there given the position I was in.
“On the front nine I had a disaster with the driver – I can’t remember being that bad before – but on the back nine I played perfectly. The 14th was the only green I missed.”
Former Ryder Cup Captain Ian Woosnam was enjoying a return to form after posting seven birdies but a double bogey on the 18th undid much of his good work and he had to settle for a 71 to lie five strokes off the pace.
Sam Torrance, the 2002 Ryder Cup winning Captain who captured the title in 2008 and won the Order of Merit last year, is a further shot back after a 72.
