A penultimate hole eagle has David Law soaring not only into a first season-ending event next month in Dubai but also a hopeful of a second Tour victory at the Portugal Masters.
Scottish-born Law holed a super 15-foot putt for a ‘3’ at the par-5 17th hole for an impressive bogey-free six-under 65 on the rain-softened Dom Pedro Victoria course at Vilamoura on the Algarve.
England’s Jordan Smith, who eagled his 14th hole and also grabbed seven birdies in an even more impressive 62, heads the field by a shot at nine-under.
Scotland’s David Law caps his opening Portugual Masters opening round by holing out for eagle at his penulimate hole
Law, 31, arrived in Portugal with the assurance of his 2023 Tour card locked-in and focussing instead on a second Tour victory and more immediately, cementing his place in the top-60 for a maiden start in next month’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
And the current No. 58 on the money list set about just that with a flawless display with four birdies through 15 holes and then landed his 253-yard second shot, over water, to five yards behind the pin at the par-5 17th and holing the putt.
Law said: “It was a good round of golf and with the course being soft from the rain they’ve had down here, it presented a lot of opportunities.
“I was only one-under through 11 holes and it was just a matter of staying patient because I knew I was playing good golf, and with my caddy reminding me we’d pick-up shots over the closing few holes.
“That’s what I managed to do as there was no wind, the course was soft and I kept my patience.
“The eagle on 17 was a nice reward. It was funny as at the start of the season I have made quite a few eagles and it had been a while since I had an eagle, so that was nice to see the putt drop.”
Law’s opening round effort has him already projected to jump six places to 46th on the money list standings.
Marc Warren and David Drysdale are next best of the Scots in signing for five-under 66s, and with Warren capping his round in holing a 20-yard second shot for an eagle ‘2’ at the par-4 15th.
Warren’s lying 96th on the Race to Dubai and is dearly looking to qualify for next fortnight’s co-sanctioned $US 6m Nedbank Challenge at Sun City in South Africa.
He said: “I need to jump about 20 spots on the Race to Dubai to qualify for the Nedbank, so that’s the goal this week.
“My form has been good, especially the past few weeks with some good results, and I’ve felt like I have really turned the corner and it’s just nice to start another tournament with a good first round.
“I was getting close to breaking into the top-117 on the Race to Dubai and I’ve done that to be now 96th but it’s tough to stay patient when you’re not getting results especially when you feel there is not much else you can do.”
Drysdale, needing to finish top-2 in Portugal, posted six birdies in his round and with top-ranked Scot Robert MacIntyre signing for a three-under 68 and 14 shots fewer than his final Vilamoura round of a year ago.
MacIntyre said: “This place wasn’t kind to me the last time I played it and that’s the reason I’m back, to prove a point to myself.”
