Oliver Farr leads by one stroke after the opening round of the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle, after posting a five under par round of 67 on day one in Co. Meath.
The Welshman mixed an eagle and four birdies with a solitary bogey in testing conditions to edge ahead atop a congested leaderboard, which sees eight players share second, including Irishmen Jack Madden and Alex Maguire.
Farr, starting on the tenth, birdied his opening hole, and added further birdies at the 17th and 18th before eagling the second for a fourth gain in as many holes.
The three-time HotelPlanner Tour winner would drop his only shot of the day on the fifth, but with the wind swirling responded with a birdie on his very next hole to set the early pace, and he was pleased with how he stuck to his game plan on a challenging opening day.
“It was one of those days where I played really well and it’s always nice to get off to a good start,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy day with the wind. I felt like it picked up towards the end there.
“It’s my first time playing here. I played a couple of practice rounds and I feel like your iron play needs to be good. The greens are quite small and there were a lot of pins today where you needed to be sensible, which was my game plan.”
Farr last tasted victory in 2019 in the Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour on his way to promotion to the DP World Tour, but after struggling for consistency in 2024, has relied on invites for much of the 2025 Road to Mallorca.
The 37-year-old is hoping to use a good start in Ireland to his advantage as he looks to boost his playing opportunities heading into the final third of the campaign.
“It’s been a strange year for me,” he added. “I’ve never had this in my HotelPlanner Tour and DP World Tour career, so it’s been hard to adapt.
“I’ve not played as well as I’d have wanted to, but every week is an opportunity and there’s not many left now so I need to get my foot down.
“I didn’t have any expectations of a score today which was probably a good thing, so I’ll try to do the same tomorrow.”
Home favourites Maguire and Madden share second alongside English quartet John Gough, George Bloor, Will Hopkins and Will Enefer, Scotsman Sam Locke and Dane Jeppe Kristian Andersen.
The second round of the Irish Challenge gets under way at 7:30am local time tomorrow, with Farr teeing off alongside German Maximilian Schmitt and Englishman Gary King at 9:30am.
