John Gough posted a six under par round of 64 to set the early pace in the GAC Rosa Challenge Tour at Rosa Golf Club, before being joined at the top by Sebastian Garcia and Toby Hunt late on day one.
Englishman Gough mixed seven birdies with a solitary bogey, a scorecard matched by Spaniard Garcia, with Welshman Hunt going bogey-free to move into a share of a one-shot lead ahead of six others in Poland.
Englishman Gough arrived in Poland following a run of three top five finishes in his last eight starts, including a fourth place finish last week in the Dormy Open, and he was pleased to carry that form into another week as the season reaches a crucial point.
“There’s a lot of golf to play but all you can do on day one is go out there and try to get yourself into the tournament,” he said.
“It’ll be hard to maintain that for four rounds but it’s day one and hopefully I can build off that.
“I had a good finish last week and it’s been a few rounds under par now, so it was nice to keep it going. I got a bit fortunate on the last hole, but apart from that I wedged it pretty well today, and I think around here you can take advantage of that.
“We’re getting into the important part of the season now. Hopefully I can keep it going to the end of the season all the way through to the Rolex Grand Final. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Garcia was one of the later starters on day two, with a birdie on his closing hole seeing him join Gough at the top.
The Spaniard sits 43rd in the season-long Rankings and is hoping to follow in the footsteps of countryman Angel Ayora this week, after he triumphed at Rosa Golf Club 12 months ago.
“I played very solid,” he said. “The last few weeks off the tee and to the green I played well, but the putter was cold. Today the putter was working and this was my score. I’m very happy.
“I spoke with Angel Ayora who won here last year, and he told me it’s perfect, the conditions of the golf course are great and I like it. The greens are a bit soft but very good.
“I need to win a tournament or play a few tournaments well over the next few weeks to get to China, and then into the final event of the season, so that’s the aim.”
Hunt has found form in recent weeks, finishing tied 33rd in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo on the DP World Tour, before finishing tied 12th in last week’s Dormy Open.
The 32-year-old is another looking to continue that momentum and says the course in Konopiska seems to be one that suits his game.
“It’s a golf course that quite suits me,” he said. “It suits my eye going into the greens and I enjoyed it.
“I’m not the shortest hitter but I’m not the longest hitter either, so a lot of the doglegs I’m able to hit a little cut driver into places where I’m not running out, but I’m carrying the bunkers.
“The result on the DP World Tour was massive for me. Something I’ve always wanted to do in my whole career was to see if I’m good enough at DP World Tour level, so making the cut on the number and then beating both of my playing partners over the weekend before finishing 33rd was a massive confidence booster and huge for belief.
“Then I played solid again last week. I’ve brought that here to Poland with me which is nice.”
Six players share fourth place on five under par, including Italian duo Gregorio de Leo and Stefano Mazzoli, Spaniard Rocco Repetto Taylor, American Nicholas Infanti, Oihan Guillamoundeguy from France and Swede Rikard Karlberg.
The second round of the GAC Rosa Challenge Tour gets under way tomorrow at 7:15am local time, with Gough teeing off at 1:15pm, Garcia off at 8:45am and Hunt at 9:15am.
