2014 champion Joakim Lagergren rolled back the years as he fired a seven-under-par 63 to take a two-shot lead after day one of the NI Open Challenge Tour event at Galgorm Castle.
Lagergren, 32, carded five birdies and an eagle in his blemish-free round as he led fellow Swede Per Langfors, France’s 2017 winner Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Denmark’s Jeppe Kristian Andersen by two strokes.
“It makes me feel old knowing that it was 10 years ago,” said Lagergren, when asked about 2014 triumph at the Ballymena venue.
The Swede went on to win the Sicilian Open on the then European Tour in 2018 but lost his DP World Tour card last year after missing 12 cuts in 20 events and went into this week 82nd in the Challenge Tour rankings.
“I played really solid today. I feel my misses were a bit tighter than they’ve been lately, so even when I played a bad shot, they were okay,” he added.
Irishman Conor Purcell, England Sam Hutsby and Czech Jiri Zuska share fifth place on four under par, with nine players a further shot back in eighth, including Irishman Gary Hurley.
2011 DP World Tour Championship winner Alvaro Quiros is among a large group sharing 17th spot after a round of 68.
Northern Irishman Jonathan Caldwell fired a level-par 70 with another home player Dermot McElroy in a group on 73 which included French pair Alexander Levy and Benjamin Hebert plus Scotland’s Marc Warren.
