Northern Ireland’s Damian Mooney started his battle on Sunday on the Tour Course - having not teed off at all on Saturday - and promptly birdied his first hole, the par four tenth, and added another shot at the 13th to move to two under par in a share of 20th place.
However consecutive bogeys on 15 and 16 left Mooney making the turn level but with more birdies to follow on the 1st and 7th to finish with a 70 and leading the Irish challengers on day one.
Simon Thornton of Team Ireland resumed play on Sunday three shots to the good - after 12 holes on Saturday – and dropped a shot on his first hole but managed to recover it on the fifteenth with a birdie. But three consecutive bogeys on 16, 17 and 18 saw the 2010 European Tour Rookie drop back to level par after the first round in 59th spot.
Colm Moriarty ended Saturday playing only nine holes in 2 over par and on resuming on Sunday the Athlone man birdied holes 6 and 7 - to go level. But then a double bogey on the 8th left him back where he had started the day in 104th place but with five more rounds to make right.
Niall Kearney started his day one over par after twelve holes the previous day and returned to action on Sunday only to drop shots on holes 5, 6 and 8 to finish in 135th place on 4 over par.
Englishman Steve Lewton fired a flawless seven under par 63 to lead The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage after a protracted first round in Spain.
Frost on PGA Catalunya Resort’s Tour Course meant Lewton did not get to tee off on Saturday, but the 27 year old was not caught cold as he fired seven birdies to take a one stroke lead over Jean-François Lucquin and Andrew Tampion.
“I played steady golf all day, didn’t miss any greens and hardly made any mistakes,” said Lewton. “Any time you do that and you hole a few putts, you’re likely to have a good day.
“The goal at the start of the day was to keep the bogeys off my card, so it was mission accomplished. I wasn’t really in any trouble, and when I was my putter rescued me.
“It’s obviously a long week so I’m not going to get too carried away about leading after the first day, but so far, so good. It’s my first time to the Qualifying School Final, but I know what to expect from other guys who have played here before. Both courses are very good, although the Tour course is probably the slightly easier of the two. You’ve obviously got to play well on both to stand any chance of going through, so we’ll probably have a fairer idea of where we are tomorrow.
“I’ve been playing pretty well for the past six weeks, so I was reasonably confident coming into the week. Obviously winning the Second Stage last week gave me a confidence boost, and I’ve carried that form here with me.”
Lucquin and Tampion are one stroke back after both players carded six under par rounds of 64 on the Tour Course.
Frenchman Lucquin, who held off Rory McIlroy in a play-off to win the 2008 Omega European Masters, produced a stunning finish to his opening round, picking up four shots in his final three holes.
Starting on the tenth tee, Lucquin was two under for his front nine after following a bogey on the 11th with birdies on the 13th, 16th and 18th holes.
The 31 year old then ignited his round with an eagle on the seventh hole, before ending the day with back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth to gather momentum as he seeks an instant return to The European Tour, having finished 139th in The Race to Dubai.
Australian Tampion is also hoping to bounce straight back on to The European Tour, having finished a lowly 268th on The Race to Dubai in 2010.
The 26 year old from Melbourne fired nine birdies in his 64, with his only mistake of the day coming when he found the water on the 15th hole – his sixth after also starting on the Tour Course’s tenth tee – to card a double-bogey six.
He recovered immediately with a hat-trick of birdies, and believes his new-found patience is paying dividends.
“I didn’t have a good year this year, and my goal was to just go out and give myself as many chances as possible,” said Tampion. “It sounds simple, but if you are hitting 16 or 17 greens then not a lot can go wrong. I had 17 good, realistic birdie chances today and the only green I didn’t I hit was when I put it in the water and made double.
“I just kept giving myself chances, and then if you don’t hole it you walk on to the next and be patient. It’s a long week, and in these conditions you really do have to be patient.
“I felt this year I had no momentum. I’d make a birdie then follow it with a bogey. I’ve definitely learned from the experience. I’ve learned more this year than from when I’ve played well. Hopefully it is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I can kick on and win some tournaments like I know I can.”
There are eight players a further two shots back on four under par after rounds of 66 on the Tour Course.
That group includes South African Branden Grace, who was buoyed by his maiden professional victory in the Coca Cola Championship hosted by Gary Player in his homeland last month.
“I managed to pick up birdies on 17 and 18 so it was a nice finish,” said Grace. “I left a couple of shots out there but I’m happy with that start.
“I’ve got the confidence after getting that first win as a pro and I feel I’m hitting the ball well. The momentum is going with me at the moment and that win over my home course of Fancourt was the ideal preparation for this week.”
Also on four under par is Welshman Liam Bond, Spaniard Jorge Campillo, Englishman Adam Gee, Argentine Cesar Monasterio, Australian Wade Ormsby and Scottish pair Jack Doherty and Elliot Saltman.
On the par 72 Stadium Course, which the leaders will tackle on Monday, Sweden’s Jens Dantorp and Denmark’s Thomas Norret carded three under par rounds of 69 to match Australian Rick Kulacz’s overnight clubhouse score.
Former Ryder Cup player Joakim Haeggman, who recovered from a double bogey seven on the 12th hole, was among a group of nine players on the Stadium Course to sign for a round of 70.
