Castle amateur Robert Moran was “fairly pleased” after opening with a bogey-free, four-under 68 at the First Stage Section B of the DP World Tour Qualifying School at Montado Golf Resort in Portugal.

The Dubliner is tied for 20th and just inside the top top 23 and ties who will progress to November’s Second Stage.

Scores

He’s five shots behind Australian amateur Robert McKinney, who shot a nine-under 63 to lead by a shot from American Marcus Plunkett.

San Francisco-based Irishman Redmond Lyons shot 72 to share 57th place, four shots outside the qualifying places.

“Played solid for the most part, any loose shots tended to be in easier parts to get up and down from,” Moran said. “I holed out pretty well in the five to nine feet range which was key today.”

Starting on the back nine, he turned in one-under par thanks to a birdie four at the 17th and pointed to his two-putt par from 75 feet at the first, his 10th, as key as he went on to pick up three more shots at the second, fourth and par-three 180-yard eighth, where he hit an eight-iron to six feet.

“That got me going,” he said of his two-putt at the first. “I winged a tee shot so did well.”