All eyes were on Nicolas Colsaerts on the first day of the Johnny Walker Championship, but Knut Borsheim and Brett Rumford grabbed the headlines.
Knut Borsheim: Solid start
The Australian and Norwegian have a one-shot lead over five players after carding five-under-par 67s at Glenagles in Scotland on Thursday.
Rookie Borsheim finds himself 215th on the money list and has not made a halfway cut since early June, but he has a chance to turn his season around after impressing in the opening round.
"The season has been very new to me and you have to adapt, I guess," said the qualifying school graduate.
"I've taken some time off. A lot of people just want you to play all the time, but I needed a break.
"I guess if you're playing well you assume it's easy. If it's not going your way and you are constantly missing cuts it's tough.
"There's a lot of guys been through that - almost everyone - and I just have to play the best I can and see what happens."
The 35-year-old Rumford, a three-times Tour winner, has struggled for form since his wife gave birth to twins.
"I have been trying to fit in seven-hour practice sessions," he said. "But I have been trying to be there for my girls as well and be as good a father as I can be, trying to juggle many things at once."
Borsheim and Rumford have a slender lead over a group of five that include Mark Foster Paul Lawrie and Francesco Molinari.
Lawrie's round included seven birdies and admitted afterwards that being in contention for a Ryder Cup recall after a 13-year absence had affected his game.
"You can never know how much the Ryder Cup plays on your mind - you're looking at the list and wondering whether someone is going to pass you," he said.
"I have been struggling a bit with my ball striking, grinding it out a bit and it's got me down. I have been a bit grumpy over the last couple of months.
"But I have been grinning like a Cheshire cat since it was confirmed that I have made the team because I wanted to get in so badly. And now I am in the team the good ball-striking has come back."
Belgian Colsaerts, along with Richie Ramsey, Richard Finch, Victor Dubuisson and Andrew Dodt, are a further shot behind while Ryder Cup vice-captain Thomas Bjorn of Denmark is at two under.
golf365.com