McGrane leads in Majorca

DAMIEN McGRANE is the surprise leader after the opening round in the Turespana Majorca Classic.

An opening round of 64 gave him a two-shot lead over the field and established the course record at Pula.

The Irishman won the penultimate card at the qualifying school last year and requires a good finish here to avoid a repeat visit.

The 32-year-old lies 142nd on the Order of Merit and needs to move into the top 115 to retain his card, and made the perfect start with six birdies and an eagle, the latter coming when he holed an eight-iron from 147 yards on the 14th.

"It's early days," cautioned McGrane. "There is a long way to go but there is no pressure on me to keep my card, it's hard enough to play this game without pressure on top of me as well." Lee Westwood failed to live up to his billing as tournament favourite with a first-round 72.

After a 30-minute delay following torrential rain overnight and earlier in the week which left parts of the course under water, Westwood never recovered from running up a double-bogey seven on the 10th, his opening hole.

The 30-year-old had to hit three balls off the tee because he thought his first two had been pulled out of bounds, but after finding his first ball in an unplayable lie had to take two penalty drops to get out of trouble.

His fourth shot was then played from a cart path and after needing a five iron to find the green, the former European number one two-putted for a seven. Three birdies and three bogeys then followed and Westwood signed for a two-over-par 72, eight shots behind and six adrift of playing partner Jose Maria Olazabal.

Olazabal carded a flawless 66 containing four birdies and no dropped shots, and could be reluctant to make too many changes to the course when he performs a re-design for next year. Westwood described it as a "funky, unique little course" and may be regretting his decision to honour his commitment to play in the event.

The total purse on offer at Pula Golf Club is just £285,000, less than a 10th of that up for grabs at the Dunhill Links championship last month.

The first prize of £47,000 is a fraction of the £503,000 Westwood won for his victory at St Andrews but the lure of more Ryder Cup qualifying points was enough to bring him to the holiday island.

Olazabal's goal is to secure his place in the lucrative season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama only the top 60 on the money list qualify and the Spaniard currently occupies last spot and he got off to a perfect start after a poor season.