Patient Mark Power just a shot off the pace after sensational opening 65 in Spain

Mark Power produced a bogey-free six-under 65 at the Isla Canela Links in windy conditions to sit alone in third place, one shot behind Pedro Figueiredo and Ryan van Velzen. After a disappointing opening round last week, where he was six-under after nine holes but finished with a 72, he focused on steady play and benefited once putts began to drop. He is 100th in the Road to Mallorca standings but believes his game can compete if his putting cooperates. James Sugrue shot 66 to be two shots off the pace, while John-Ross Galbraith was joint seventh after 67. On the Ladies European Tour, Sara Byrne returned from a fractured elbow and opened with a three-under 68 to share fifth place.

"Mark Power stayed patient in windy conditions and fired a bogey-free six-under 65 to roar into contention at the Challenge de Espana in Andalucia. The Kilkenny man (25) was disappointed not to take advantage of a six-under-par front nine in the opening round of last week's Danish Golf Challenge and card a 72 en route to a modest 47th-place finish. But he kept his focus at a blustery Isla Canela Links to sit alone in third place, just a shot behind Portugal's Pedro Figueiredo and South Africa's Ryan van Velzen."

""Yeah, I was delighted with that," Power said. "Last week I was six-under after nine in the first round and had a terrible back nine, so I was disappointed. "I tried to keep the foot down, whereas I probably should have tried to keep it more steady. "So I just knew steady golf out there was going to be good, and once a few putts started to drop, it just freed me up even more.""

""It's nice to see a few putts go in and know that my game is there, if I can convert," he said. The two-time Walker Cup star is 100th in the Road to Mallorca standings but feels he has the game to compete if his putter co-operates. Mallow's James Sugrue carded a five-under 66 that left him just two shots off the pace in fourth, while John-Ross Galbraith was joint seventh after a 67."

"On the Ladies European Tour, Douglas' Sara Byrne (25) enjoyed a welcome return to form in just her third start since coming back after four months out with a fractured elbow. The former Curtis Cup star opened with a three-under 68 in the Jabra Ladies Open de France to share fifth place, just two strokes behind Norway's Dorthea Forbrigd at Evian Golf Resort. "I was feeling pretty good. I was just really chilled," said Byrne. "I went out there just to play so""

Read at Irish Independent