Byrne on fire

Banchory's James Byrne returned to the scene of his 2007 Scottish boys stroke-play championship win - and picked up the scent of victory again with a six-under-par round of 66 in the first round of the Cardrona Hotel 36-hole Challenge tournament at the Peebles venue.

That put last year's Northern Open champion level overnight with James McKinnon (Irvine) at the head of a field of 86. Both leaders shot eight birdies and two bogeys.

McKinnon had the better outward half - five birdies and no bogeys to turn in 31 against Byrne's 34. But it was Byrne who eliminated the bogeys after the turn, coming home in 32 with birdies at the 12th, 13th, 17th and 18th.

McKinnon, back in 35, dropped shots at the 15th and 17th in the middle of three birdies over the last seven holes.

They lead by one shot from Buchanan Castle's Jason McCreadie who has already shot some low scores in Tartan Tour pro-ams this season.

Anyone of the top 12 could yet win the £1,750 first prize by shooting low numbers in the final round over the David Thomas-designed Borders course.

Greig Hutcheon (Banchory), winner of a silver salver at Wenworth on Sunday for being the leading PGA pro at the BMW PGA championship, adjusted well enough with a three-under 69 but he is ‘only’ joint ninth.

Hutcheon bogeyed the first but was four-under-par for the remainder of his round with birdies at the sixth, seventh, 10th and 14th.

Local assistant pro Ailsa Bain, the Scottish U18 girls champion in 2009, and Heather MacRae (Gleneagles), a winner on the LETAS circuit in Sweden last week, deserve a mention for par-matching rounds of 72.

The astonishing aspect of Bain’s round was that she was able to cancel out a pair of double bogey sixes - at the seventh and 10th, with a bag of five birdies, at the long sixth, eighth, long 12th, short 13th and long 14th. Local knowledge, indeed!

MacRae had a steady round of two birdies, the seventh and short 13th, and two bogeys, the eighth and 10th.

Stephen Gray (Hayston), winner of the first of the PGA in Scotland's 36-hole Challenge series at Spey Valley, is unlikely to make it two in a row after taking 38 shots for the first nine and returning a one-over 73.