(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Scotland's Aidan O'Hagan, former Ryder Cup star Chris Wood and Italy's Aron Zemmer surged to the top of the leaderboard at the Rolear Algarve Classic, each opening with a superb seven-under-par 65 to share the lead after a thrilling first day at the Amendoeira Golf Resort's O'Connor Course on the MENA Golf Tour in Portugal.

O'Hagan produced one of the standout performances of the day, a flawless round highlighted by a brilliant hole-in-one at the par-3 sixth. The ace was the centrepiece of a confident display that leaves the Scot in an ideal position heading into Wednesday's second round.

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Last week's champion, Ludovico Addabbo, faced a challenging start, turning in a three-over 39, but the Italian showed significant resilience with a superb three-under 33 on the back nine, including an eagle at the 11th and a birdie at the 17th. His even-par 72 leaves him tied for 35th.

Skaik finds early footing

The UAE's Ahmad Skaik, making only his second appearance since turning professional, posted a two-over-par 74 as he continues to find his footing in the paid ranks.

With 36 holes remaining and the leaderboard tightly packed, Wednesday's second round is poised to shape the championship as the field battles for the $18,000 winner's share of the $100,000 purse.

“I had a perfect number, 181 yards, 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.”

His front nine featured the ace and a birdie at the fifth for a flawless 31. The back nine was more dramatic, with birdies on 11 and 12, a bogey on 13 and then a superb burst of two birdies and an eagle in the space of three holes. A bogey on the last did little to dampen an otherwise commanding round.

“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.”

Celebrations erupt on the sixth

Playing in the group behind, O'Hagan's close friend and fellow Scot Sebastian Sandin heard the celebrations from the sixth green.“I heard them shout and then we pulled out the rangefinder, saw the pitch mark behind the pin with no ball,” said Sandin, who returned a steady one-under 71.

Wood, fresh off winning Q School a couple of weeks ago, bounced back strongly from a difficult start to the season at Aroeira. The Englishman looked far more settled as he pieced together a bogey-free 65, opening with three straight birdies and adding another at the fifth before picking up further strokes on 10, 11 and 18 to match the clubhouse lead.

The three-time DP World Tour winner was encouraged by the sharpness returning to his game.“It's nice to be playing golf round after round, and this is offering me competitive golf with a card in your hand,” Wood explained.“I've not looked like shooting mid-60s for a couple of years. Wherever you are playing, if you can become used to shooting lower scores, that's good for where you're going.”

Zemmer completed the leading trio with an equally polished, bogey-free 65. His round built steadily with a single birdie on the front nine at the par-5 sixth before he caught fire on the back nine, racing home in 30 with six birdies - four in a row from the 10th, followed by further birdies on 15 and 16.

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