The battle for the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am appears a straight fight between the north and south after the opening round of the £30,000 tournament.
The upper hand at Turkey's Antalya Golf Club rests with the north as Yorkshire's Far Grange Park are leading the way after a seven-under-par 64, two shots ahead of Stockton on Tees duo Eaglescliffe.
But the south are making a strong case for the title with Bedfordshire's Dunstable Downs and Royal Mid Surrey sharing third spot at four-under-par. Completing the top five are Devon-based Thurlestone at three-under.
Far Grange Park's position at the top of the leaderboard is not surprising given that head professional Darren Leng is a regular visitor to the Turkish venue. Last year he watched the final, but this time he and partner Phil Killey, an electrician who is the highest handicapper in the field at 19, have put down a marker ahead of the final round.
"It was there for the taking today. The course was playing well and the greens were putting quite nicely but having played it a few times certainly helped," said Leng
"On a few holes you can take a couple of short cuts if you're a big hitter which leaves you just a wedge into the green.
"But the guys who don't know the course as well and have played it only once will maybe lay up. So it certainly helps knowing the course well."
But it wasn't all plain sailing for the duo with Leng admitting that the Killey had found the experience more daunting, especially with the presence of the TV cameras.
"In practice Phil's played really good and I've played poorly but it was different today," said Leng.
"It was difficult for Phil as we were in front of the cameras and that made him a bit more nervous but I think he should be better tomorrow as he'll know what to expect.
"Despite that we both played good and got off to a good start and just kept it going."
Killey added: "Darren played super golf and was a steadying influence. I struggled on the shot holes, as I was throwing them away, but Darren held it together.
"I helped out on a couple of holes, getting us a par, allowing Darren to go for the birdies. Now we've just got to hold it together for another round."
Eaglescliffe pair Graeme Bell and amateur Denis Wing will pile on the pressure playing alongside them, with amateur Wing coming up trumps over the back nine to keep in touching distance of the leaders.
"We were one under after nine and didn't really give ourselves any chances but the back nine we settled down and hit some better shots and got our rewards," said Wing.
"I was hitting ball better and got it going with a net eagle at the 12th. I got a birdie on the 16th
Bell added: "Five under was probably about as good as we could've got. I didn't play great, especially at the start, but we're in there. I thought if we could pick up a shot over the last three holes, which we did, that would be great.
"However, I feel disappointed as I missed a four foot putt at the last. But Denis played well, he was the captain today."
08 December, 2009