Mark Power made the most of a late sponsor's invitation to shoot a settling first-round 67 at the Magical Kenya Open, a score that leaves the Kilkenny man five shots off leaders Casey Jarvis and Niklas Lemke.
Power only arrived at Karen Country Club on Tuesday but he sits on three-under par, one of 16 players in the congested group in a tie for 34th.
Starting on the 10th, Power had birdies at the 12th and 16th either side of a bogey at 15, and he rounded off his front nine with a brilliant eagle at the par-five 18th.
A bogey at the third saw him fall back to two-under before a birdie at the eighth.
Sweden’s Lemke set the pace early on with an eight-under-par 62, later matched by South Africa’s Jarvis. Scotland’s David Law was one shot off the lead after a first-round 63.
World number 216 Law was on track for a share of the lead after eight birdies in his first 14 holes, but a bogey at the next dropped him one behind along with Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Meanwhile Portumna golfer Sam Murphy, who turned professional after coming though the Alps Tour Q-school, has won the opening event of the season on what is a third tier circuit for the DP World Tour.
Murphy captured the 54-hole Ein Bay Open in Egypt with an 11-under aggregate, two shots ahead of another Irish player, Robert Moran, who is in his third Alps Tour season.
Twenty tournaments are scheduled between now and mid-October and the top five in the Order of Merit will earn promotion to the second-tier HotelPlanner Tour (formerly European Challenge Tour).
The next two 54-hole tournaments follow in quick succession in Egypt before a break until April.
Additional reporting: PA
