Dornoch delight for Lee as Syme, Ramsay and MacIntyre make strong starts in Holland and Canada

Lee equalled the course record at the Sutherland venue with an eight-under-par 62 as the 48-year-old repeated his 2009 title triumph at Spey Valley, winning on this occasion by five shots.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said the former DP World Tour card holder from Stirling after picking up a cheque for £3,200 in the latest event on The PGA’s Open Series.

“I’ve been a pro longer than some of the younger kids have been on the earth and it’s nice to prove that I can still compete. The wins certainly get sweeter as the years pass.”

Alastair Forsyth, another former winner, shared second spot with English duo Matt Ford and James Freeman after closing with a 66.

Meanwhile, Syme and Ramsay both have the leader, Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, in their sights after a weather-hit opening day in the KLM Open on the DP World Tour.

Syme’s six-under 65, which contained eight birdies, at The International in Amsterdam left him one behind Gouveia while Ramsay marked his return to action after a virus-enforced lay-off with an equally-pleasing 66.

“Yeah, it was really good,” said Syme of his day’s work. “I putted a lot better today. I saw some good signs last week and it was nice to keep that going into this week.”

Play was halted for a spell due to thunderstorms and Syme was pleased about how he handled the disruption.

“We were sitting about a bit and I went back and got a bit of treatment to make sure I was feeling good again,” added the Drumoig Golf Centre-attached player,

“That was definitely the right thing to do because after the delay I did feel quite stiff, so it was nice to restart a little bit.”

A birdie to finish saw him jump ahead of Ramsay, who had carded his effort in the morning wave, and Syme admitted: “I think we definitely got a little bit of a break.

“Albeit it was still tricky, the greens had softened up and there were a few pins we were able to get at that we might not have been able to this morning. So it was to take advantage of that and hit some quality shots.”

Defending champion Bob MacIntyre off to solid start in Canada

In a first competitive outing since the Hainan Open in the last week of April, Ramsay made his score with a birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie burst on the front nine.

“I’d obviously had my break after not feeling well and it was nice to feel competitive as I sort of missed that,” said the four-time tour winner. “It wasn’t easy conditions. The wind was pretty strong and some of those holes play straight into the wind. Yeah, just hit my irons really good.”

On the PGA Tour, Bob MacIntyre opened his RBC Canadian Open title defence with a bogey-free five-under-par 65 on a day of scattered showers at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Ontario.

The rock-solid effort left the Oban man sitting joint-ninth, four shots off the lead, held by Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar.

Playing in the same group as MacIntyre, Shane Lowry opened with a 64, but two-time winner Rory McIlroy is facing a battle to make the cut following an up-and-down 71.

Lorna McClymont has Tenerife leaders in her sights

Elsewhere, Lorna McClymont sits just three shots off the lead after an opening two-under-par 70 in the LET’s Tenerife Ladies Open at Abama Golf.

The Scot’s effort came after Carly Booth, who had been due to make her first outing on the circuit for three years, withdrew due to “medical reasons”.