O'Hagan, Wood and Zemmer share opening round lead at Algarve Classic

O'Hagan's bogey-free round was highlighted by a spectacular hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole, the centrepiece of a stunning display that has the Scot perfectly positioned heading into next round

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Scotland's Aidan O'Hagan, former Ryder Cup star Chris Wood and Italy's Aron Zemmer fired matching seven-under-par rounds of 65 to share the lead after an exhilarating opening day of the Rolear Algarve Classic at Amendoeira Golf Resort’s O'Connor Course.

“I had a perfect number, 181, it was a nice eight iron, just a little bit off it, landed past the pin and when we got the range finder on it, it was good to see that it had dropped,” said O’Hagan. “It was kind of the perfect shot really. It definitely gave me confidence that I was hitting it the way I wanted to.”

O'Hagan’s front nine featured the ace on six along with a birdie on five for a flawless outward 31. His back nine proved more eventful with birdies on 11 and 12, a bogey on 13, before a blistering run of two birdies and an eagle over his next three holes. A further dropped shot at the last did little to dampen his spirits after such a commanding performance.

“This course suits me well off the tee. I can hit driver a lot of places and my iron play has been pretty strong, which is nice,” he added. “Hopefully just keep rolling in a few putts and should be able to have a good week.”