Scottish golfer equals birdie world record to set Portugal pace on Legends Tour

Scott Drummond reeled off nine birdies in a row, equalling the world record, to set the pace along with fellow Scot Paul Lawrie and South African Jean Hugo in the inaugural Portugal Legends Championship.

Drummond, who enjoyed his finest hour when winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2004, sparked his birdie burst by holing a sand wedge at the sixth and then rolled in putt after putt through to the 14th at Pinheirinho.

Scott Drummond in action during the first round of the Portugal Legends Championship on the Legends Tour | Legends Tour

He signed for a six-under-par 66 to set the pace along with 1999 Open champion Lawrie and Hugo on a day of low-scoring. “I just hit a hot streak, it was pretty surreal,” admitted Drummond. “I knew that guys had made nine before, but I didn’t know what the record was. It makes it a bit more disappointing that I didn’t make my putt for ten in a row.”

The English-based 52-year-old sits 45th on this season’s Legends Tour Order of Merit, which is being led by Stephen Gallacher. “There are a few wide holes you’d say are quite easy, but you have to drive it well to set yourself up for chances,” added Drummond. “The green complexes are pretty tricky too, so you have to be dialed in with your yardages.

“Today I had a lot of good numbers, so I could hit pretty solid shots and not worry about being too short or too long. I was just going straight at the flags. At the end of the day, though, you’ve got to make the putts, no matter how well you play. We were kind of smiling a little at this point, the putts were just pouring in.”

Hugo, who claimed a maiden win on the circuit at the Reignwood Legends Championship in Beijing last month, made seven birdies in his round while Lawrie, one of the later starters, made it a three-way tie for the lead after holing a testing par putt on the difficult 18th.

Paul Lawrie was delighted with his opening effort at Pinheirinho | Legends Tour

“I’ve been struggling, I’ve been playing pretty poorly,” said the Aberdonian. “It hasn’t been a great 18 months, to be honest. I thought, right, I either have to dig in and do some work or just stop, and I wasn’t ready to stop. So I’ve been practising every morning at home, and it’s nice to come out to a tournament for the first time in a while and play well.

“I hit a lot of good iron shots today, inside ten feet a lot, which is what you have to do out here. I played lovely all day. The ball striking was excellent. I missed a couple of putts, but I made a couple, too. I’ve been working on something new on my putting with my nephew, and it was a lot better today than it’s been. It was a good day.”

Gallacher opened with a three-under 69, with Alastair Forsyth sitting one shot closer to the lead after a strong start by the Scots.

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