Brendan Lawlor and Fiona Gray gave Ireland a two-shot lead following the opening day’s fourballs at the inaugural G4D Tour Nations Cup.
The mixed team event – the first of its kind on the innovative G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour – features 12 of the world’s best golfers with disability at The Belfry.
Lawlor, who won the 2023 G4D Open, and Gray, who served in the armed forces for 20 years earlier in her career, combined to card a three-under-par 69 on Monday.
Kipp Popert, who has ten G4D Tour victories, teamed up with Heather Gilks to post a 71 which left England as Ireland’s nearest rival.
Kurtis Barkley and Natasha Stasiuk picked up two birdies in their closing three holes to help Canada sit third on the leaderboard after a 73, with the Netherlands duo of Mari Berkers and Daphne van Houten a shot further back at two over.
Held in the lead up to this week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo on the DP World Tour, the G4D Tour Nations Cup features six countries in what is the ninth event of the G4D Tour season.
"We dovetailed fantastically today," said Lawlor.
"I played really good on the front nine, so did Fiona. I was making some birdies and then I was ropey on the back nine and Fiona was making pars and I wasn't. She was making birdies and I wasn't as well.
"Today was definitely a good chance to put yourself in position going into tomorrow and we're really excited."
Lawlor and Gray made birdies at the fourth and sixth in what was a flawless front nine as they opened up a two-shot lead at the turn as Popert and Gilks mixed two birdies with two bogeys on the front nine in the betterball format.
But that advantage was halved by the 11th, before a birdie for the Irish pair at the par-five 17th helped them to regain their two-shot advantage.
Barkley, a regular on the G4D Tour since its inaugural full season in 2022, and G4D Tour debutant Stasiuk battled back impressively from a tough front nine in which they closed with back-to-back bogeys after an earlier double bogey to card three back-nine birdies and offer them hope of claiming victory on Tuesday.
René Schwenk and Jennifer Sraga of Germany opened with a 77, while the United States pairing of Eliseo Villanueva and Ryanne Jackson are at seven over.
The format for the final day of the competition switches to foursomes on Tuesday, the second of the two-day event.
"The scores at the minute are quite close but I think you will see quite a separation as tomorrow goes and hopefully we are on the right side of the separation," said Lawlor.
"Camaraderie is big. It is very important not to blame each other."
Gray said: "We did meet up and have a practice round before we came to this event so that we could prepare because we want to win."
For background behind all 12 players in the field, click here.
