Swedish amateur Marcus Kinhult carded an impressive 67 to take a share of the lead on the opening day of the Nordea Masters in Malmö.
The 18 year old is joined at the top of the leaderboard on five under par by countryman Jens Dantorp and England’s Chris Paisley.
Local lad Dantorp set the clubhouse lead earlier in the day, recovering from a bogey on the tenth, his opening hole, with an eagle and four pars.
Kinhult reached the turn in 36 before making five birdies on the back nine, including one at the par five last, for a strong finish, shortly before Paisley completed a round which contained six birdies and one bogey.
Kinhult, who recently won the prestigious Lytham Trophy, attributed his superb start to an improvement in his putting.
“It’s pretty special to play in a European Tour event and to play here in Sweden.
“That score was thanks to brilliant putting. I played really well from tee to green but I also holed a lot of putts for birdie and for par. The putter was pretty hot.
“I didn’t expect much, just to have a great week and gain some experience. So far, so good.
“My game feels good – I’m very solid from tee to green and finally my putting is starting to come good. It’s a good combination.
“There’s not much difference between the amateur and professional ranks. The course set-up is very similar to what we’re used to. I don’t feel any different playing here. I hope I can just keep making birdies and keep hitting fairways and greens.”
Paisley, who lost his card in 2013 and played last season on the Challenge Tour, is delighted to see some better form returning.
"I’m obviously really happy," he said. "I’ve been playing well for a little while but in a lot of my rounds I’ve not putted well enough or made a couple of stupid bogeys. Today I holed a few putts, and I’m delighted with how I’ve started.
“At this level it’s such fine margins. There are so many great players playing every week, so if you’re playing well every week but not quite holing the putts or making a few mistakes, there are always guys who will beat you. I didn’t really do anything different today in terms of my long game, but I managed to sink a few putts and kept the bad holes off my card.
“The confidence has been building for a while now and my game’s been good. I had a tough year last year and the year before, so it’s taken a while for the confidence to come back. Over time I’ve been getting better and better – it’s a year’s worth of confidence building to get to this point.
“I holed a nice couple of 20-footers which I haven’t done for a while, and I avoided all the out of bounds and water hazards.
“I love this place. The golf course is great and one thing my caddie and I commented on earlier was how good the greens have stayed this afternoon. Normally in the afternoon they get a bit bumpy as the day goes on, but they’ve stayed great. The whole venue is fantastic.”
England’s Lee Slattery and German Maximilian Kieffer are among a group of nine players one shot back on four under.
Meanwhile home favourite Henrik Stenson finished three shots off the lead after a 70, and his 2014 Ryder Cup team-mates Thomas Bjørn and Stephen Gallacher are one under par.
