Connor McKinney leads by two shots after the opening round of DP World Tour Final Stage Qualifying School after making a blistering start to the week at INFINITUM.
The Australian carded nine birdies without a blemish to sign for a nine under par 62 on the Hills Course, to jump into a two-shot lead from American Alex Goff, South African Zander Lombard and Swiss Cedric Gugler.
McKinney, who came through First Stage and Second Stage to tee it up at Final Stage, made a fast start to the first round in Tarragona by carding three birdies in his opening four holes.
The 23-year-old added three more gains in a four-hole stretch around the turn, and then added birdies at 15, 16 and 18 coming home to set the early pace.
“I’m pretty stoked,” he said. “I think I was in a good bit of form heading into the week, and I’d say I was pretty confident in my ability, but to pull it off at Q-School is always a good thing.
“There was a lot of good stuff. Any time you’re keeping the bogeys off the card it helps a lot. It makes the days less stressful and a little easier, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
“During the year I really found my feet again, so everything is going to plan so far. I’m trending in the right direction.”
McKinney will look to continue his good form when he plays the Hills Course tomorrow in round two of the six-round marathon, and with the leading 20 players and ties earning DP World Tour playing privileges at the end of the week, says recovery will be the key to success each day.
“You’ve got to keep the mental side pretty sharp which goes hand in hand with not overdoing it in practice,” he added. “It’s about conserving energy out here.
“A lot of guys can play out here, so it’s almost like survival of the fittest in a way. I’m going to recover after this and I think every day post-round it’ll be the same, just try to keep the body good for the next day.”
Sweden’s Oliver Gillberg, who won Second Stage Qualifying School at Desert Springs Resort last week, is fifth on six under par, with seven players one shot further back in sixth, including Andreas Halvorsen from Norway, England’s Frank Kennedy, German Jannik de Bruyn and South African Robin Williams.
The second round of Final Stage Qualifying School gets under way tomorrow at 9:00am local time, with McKinney teeing off alongside Brazilian Frederico Biondi Figueiredo and American Charles Huntzinger at 9:22am.
