Scottish golfers shoot fine opening rounds on emotional day in Spain

Thursday marked the 15th anniversary of the death of the great Seve Ballesteros and across the course in Spain, tributes were paid to the trailblazing Spaniard. Many of the players were decked out in his signature navy blue and white, while his picture was on the first tee and some of the flags were dedicated to him.

He would have enjoyed the action as South African Shaun Norris produced a spectacular eagle on his final hole to leapfrog the Scottish duo and go into the lead.

Norris carded a 64 to sit on -8, while Ferguson and Law booked landed 65s to sit a further shot back. Frenchman Alexander Levy is also on -7.

Ferguson made three birdies and a bogey before eagling the ninth and then holed monster putts for further gains on the tenth, 15th and last.

“It was good,” he said of his performance. “I saw there was some low scores before I started and I was kind of surprised a bit to be honest because in the practice round the course felt pretty difficult. I just got on a nice roll, obviously made an eagle on nine which kind of relaxed me and I played the back nine knowing I had stolen a couple shots in the round, so that is always a nice feeling when it goes your way.

“Seve has had a massive impact on me and the Tour. He changed the game for Europeans, forged the Tour and one of the reasons we are still playing here today and for as much money as we are today.

"His legacy in the Ryder Cup, I have been lucky enough to play in the Team Cup and heard some incredible stories from Jose Maria Olazábal and Ken Brown, you know some of the greats, and that was really cool. It was nice to see Javier around today and pictures of Seve everywhere.”

Law - who is back on Tour after two wins on the HotelPlanner Tour last season - took advantage of the four par fives while also picking up shots on the 11th, 17th and fifth.

“It was a score I am really please with,” said Law. “There is a bit of wind out there and it’s a bit tricky, the greens are a bit spinny as well, you need to control your irons as well, so on the whole I did that well.

“Coming off last week in Turkey, I didn’t play that great. I got home for a couple of days which was nice over the weekend, and I spoke to my coach, we worked on a couple things and just felt really comfortable out there to be honest.

“What Seve has done for our Tour and the Ryder Cup, he is a very special player for the Spanish players and for all of us. It was a very nice touch today with everyone wearing navy and white, and it gave the tournament a nice atmosphere on an opening day.”

Meanwhile, over in America, Scottish golfer Martin Laird shot a 64 at the Myrtle Beach Classic to take the clubhouse lead in the PGA Tour event in South Carolina.