Scotland’s David Drysdale leads the European Legends Cup hosted by José María Olazábal after an impressive opening round of 65 at Basozábal in San Sebastián.
His fellow countryman Stephen Gallacher, a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, sits three back after a 68 that included five consecutive front-nine birdies. He’s joined at -4 by South Africa’s Keith Horne, who birdied the last two holes in fine style, including a driver off the deck to 10ft on the par-five 17th.
Former British Masters winner Greg Owen is fourth at -3 after a solid 69, with nine players bunched at -2, including defending champion Adilson da Silva.
Tournament host José María Olazábal – who also designed the testing 6,974-yard Basozábal layout – played solidly in his opening 75, with two costly errors spoiling an otherwise encouraging round for the two-time Masters champion in front of an adoring Basque Country crowd.
“I played really solid today,” said Drysdale, who made almost 600 appearances on the DP World Tour. “I hit a lot of good shots and had a lot of nice putts. I felt pretty much in control all day. There’s some tough tee shots out there so I’m happy. I hit some close early on and then holed about a 20-footer for eagle on five. After that it was pretty steady and then I finished with a 30-footer across the last green.”
Drysdale is in his debut season on the Legends Tour and has certainly hit the ground running, with three top-10s in his eight starts to date ensuring he sits comfortably within the top-20 on the Order of Merit.
“The standard out here is so high that you have to keep your foot down and make as many birdies as you can because you know somebody’ll be coming up behind you doing something exceptional every day,” added Drysdale. “So the plan is to just try and keep it going. It’s not easy to do – I’ve done two out of three, but I haven’t quite managed to piece together three good rounds yet. Hopefully I can manage to do that this week.”
One man with similar designs on a maiden Legends Tour victory in his first season is Gallacher, who in a few weeks will reprise his successful role as Europe’s Junior Ryder Cup captain. The Scot steered Europe to victory at Marco Simone in 2023 and will be looking to repeat that feat at Bethpage. Until then, however, the 2014 Ryder Cup player will be doing his level best to inspire his young charges with a win at Basozábal.
He certainly made the best possible start, exploding out of the blocks with a stunning run of six birdies in seven holes from the second. “It was a really good nine for me,” said Gallacher. “I actually missed a short putt at the 7th for another birdie or it might have been seven in a row. But then I spun one back off the green at the 9th and hit a poor shot at 10 and it stopped me in my tracks a bit.
“I hit the ball really well today and got it close a lot. I wasn’t holing big putts, I just kept hitting it inside eight feet. I actually left a few out there, but it’s a good start to build on. I’m playing great, I just need to hole a few more putts. But it’s always good to be giving yourself chances.”
Keith Horne is another player in fine form, and he certainly continued that on day one in Northern Spain. A winner already this season at the Reignwood Legends Championship in China, the South African also has three second-place finishes as he looks to chase down Order of Merit leader Scott Hend.
“I drove the ball really well, so that put me in a position to have a lot of birdie opportunities and I played all the par-fives really well,” said Horne, who was five-under for those four holes, carding three birdies and an eagle.
“The 13th was a really good hole for me today. I hit a great tee shot, had 240 yards to the hole and hit a lovely 4-wood to about 15ft and holed it. It should have given me momentum but I bogeyed two of the next three which nullified it a bit. But then I played 17 just as well. I hit driver, then another driver to about 10 foot and just missed the putt for eagle. I then birdied the last so overall very happy.”
Local favourite and tournament host – José María Olazábal – playing on home turf, was struggling with a shoulder injury but turned in a creditable 75 that could have been much better but for two errant shots on the 7th and 13th that went out-of-bounds and into water, respectively. But despite his own troubles on-course, the Ryder Cup legend was still beaming with pride at hosting a first international tournament in his home region.
“I’m very happy that we have a tournament of this standard here. It’s a source of huge satisfaction and pride, and I hope that everybody who comes to watch really enjoys themselves. The standard of play is very high and it’s definitely worth coming to see these great players. I’m happy I was able to play because my shoulder is bothering me, but it’s better than yesterday and I’m relatively fine now. Hopefully I will rest it well tonight.”
Round two begins on Saturday morning with free entry for spectators.
