Kelly eyeing hat-trick of wins at Gleneagles

Two-time winner Chris Kelly finished with a flourish to take a three-shot lead after the opening round of the weather-hit M&H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles.

After play on the opening day had been curtailed on the King's Course due to fog, strong winds caused a 45-minute delay before the first round resumed at the Perthshire resort.

Out in the toughest of the conditions, defending champion Gareth Wright battled his way to a 75 before the clubhouse lead tumbled as the wind decreased as the day wore on.

It was jointly-held by Paul Robinson and Paul O'Hara following matching 66s in the middle of the field before Kelly, playing in one of the final few matches, birdied five of the last six holes for a stunning seven-under-par 63.

"That's my best round for a long time," said the 40-year-old, who has been based at Stirling since February. "I was flapping a bit coming down the last as I didn't quite know what to do."

Kelly, the winner in 2003 and 2015, birdied the third and sixth before producing good up and downs at both the seventh and 10th to keep his round going.

He then finished 3-3-4-2-3-4 at the former home of the Bell's Scottish Open to give himself a handy cushion in the Tartan Tour's flagship event.

"It is probably my lowest score here," he added. "It was still blowing a gale on the front nine and by the time it calmed down we were playing downwind.

"There's still a hell of a lot of golf to be played, but I've enjoyed it when I've played this year and hopefully that will continue over to the next two days."

Robinson, a 28-year-old who is attached to Largs, has been quiet since winning the P&H Championship at The Renaissance Club two years ago.

His encouraging effort was illuminated by an eagle-3 at the sixth, where he rolled in a 25-footer before knocking in an even longer one for a birdie at the 10th.

"Today was about keeping a disaster off the card and I managed to do that," said Robinson. "This year has been a bit of a struggle, but the work I have been doing with my new coach, Ian Rae, definitely helped today.

"He came up with me when I played a practice round last Thursday and I benefitted from that, too, in terms of course management."

O'Hara, who lost to an eagle from Wright at the first extra hole in a sudden-death play-off 12 months ago, started his bid to go one better with a bogey-free opening effort.

"I was three-under through 10, which is good in these conditions, before leaving a few putts just short after giving myself some good chances on the way in," said the Northern Open and Titleist & Footjoy PGA Professional Championship winner this year.

The North Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd-attached player added: "All in all, it was pretty solid, though, and it's a good start, which I will definitely take."

Former winner Jason McCreadie opened with a 68, as did Greg McBain, who has come close in the past in this event, with Graham Fox, another ex-champion, sitting sixth on 69.

After the second round on Wednesday, the top 32 and ties will progress to a final round on Thursday, with event having been cut to 54 holes due to the weather delays.

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