Thornton and Kelly lead Irish at qualifying

Simon Thornton and John Kelly led the way among the 18-strong Irish contingent after the opening round at the second stage of European Tour qualifying in the south of Spain today.

Royal County Down's Thornton shot a five-under-par round of 67 at Arcos Gardens to lie in a share of second spot, one shot off the lead held by former European Tour winner Santiago Luna on a wet and windy day in Jerez.

South County's Barrie Trainor signed for a one-under 71, Stackstown golfer Mark Campbell came in one shot further back, while Mark Murphy carded a one-over 73

Kelly, from the St Margaret's club in Dublin, fired a five-under 67 for a share of fourth spot at Costa Ballena. It still left him five shots off the lead after highly-talented Spanish teenager Jordi Garcia Pinto shot a blistering ten-under-par 62, which featured two eagles and six birdies.

Lurgan's Gareth Shaw was also sub-par after a two-under 70, with Alan Murray on level after a 70. Birr's Justin Kehoe was well down the field after an opening 75.

Douglas' Peter O'Keeffe was the best of the Irish at Montemedio, his two-under 70 leaving him in a tie for ninth spot, three shots behind the leaders.

Jonathan Caldwell and Richard Kilpatrick were also in the top 20 after one-under-par rounds of 71. Daniel Sugrue (78) and Mark Staunton (81) will have their work cut out after poor starts.

At Sherry Golf, Eddie Barr shot a level-par 72 for a tie of 17th spot, with Waterville's David Higgins a shot further back. Esker Hills amateur Shane Lowry was three-over after a 75, with Colm Moriarty (76) and Noel Fox (79) down the field.

A total of 78 places in next week's final stage of qualifying are available to the 309 golfers taking part.

EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Stage Two - Leading first round scores - At Arcos Gardens, Jerez, Spain (Par 72): 66S Luna (Spa); 67G Davies (Eng), R Kind (am, Neth), Simon Thornton  (Ire); 68 M Eliasson (Swe), M Ford (Eng), J Little (Eng), W Ormsby (Aus), P Terreni (Ita). Other Irish: 71Barrie Trainor; 72Mark Campbell; 73Mark Murphy.

At Montenmedio (Par 72): 67A Hogberg (Swe), A Kristiansen (am, Nor), G Woodman (Eng); 68  M Quiros (Spa), F Zanotti (Par).  Irish: 70Peter O'Keeffe; 71Jonathan Caldwell, Richard Kilpatrick; 78Daniel Sugrue; 81Mark Staunton.

At Costa Ballena (Par 72): 62J Garcia (Spa); 66B Evans (Eng), J Grillon (Fra); 67John Kelly  (Ire), J Mellor (Eng). Other Irish: 70Gareth Shaw; 72Alan Murray; 75Justin Kehoe.

At Sherry Golf (Par 72): 66C Carranza (Arg); 68 A Grenier (Fra), J Guerrier (Fra); 69S Alker (Nzl), F Calmels (Fra), J Dantorp (Swe), S Jeppesen (Swe). Irish: 72Eddie Barr; 73David Higgins; 75Shane Lowry (am); 76Colm Moriarty; 79Noel Fox.