Lucky number seven for Gornik

Slovenian amateur Tim Gornik boosted his hopes of progressing by signing for a seven under par 65 on day one at the First Stage of Qualifying Section C at Circolo Golf Bogogno, Italy.

The former Duke University man’s scorecard was flawless as he rolled in seven birdies over his first 18 holes, six of which came as part of a sensational back nine.

On a day of fine play from the amateur ranks, Gornik was closely followed at six under by the 2013 Spanish Amateur Champion Emilio Cuartero Blanco, who fired five birdies and an eagle at the third en route to a 66 in northern Italy.

Meanwhile at the other event which makes up Section C, five players are sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboard in France, having all posted five under par rounds of 66 on Golf D’Hardelot’s par 71 layout.

Dane Martin Oveser shares the lead, but a double bogey-bogey finish, at the 17th and 18th holes respectively, scuppered any plans of him going it alone at the top.

American Wes Homan’s card remained fault free as he notched five birdies on day one, while South African Michael Hollick had seven gains countered by a couple of dropped shots over the first of four rounds.

Irishman Niall Turner had a run of five red numbers during a round in which he snaffled a 66, while finally, Englishman Toby Tree claimed the solitary eagle amongst the top five to match the leading score.

Of the 102 competitors at Circolo Golf Bogogno, 24th place, including ties, will progress to the Second Stage of Qualifying School with dreams of a European Tour card still intact. While at Golf D’Hardelot, it will be the top 22 that qualify from a list of 94 entrants.

Currently 33 players would advance from Italy, while a further 22 could currently make it through in France if things were to remain the same come Sunday.

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