Hunt and Cruse set the pace at Mendip Spring

Toby Hunt and Joe Cruse produced golf that matched the sizzling temperatures in the first round of the PGA South West Region Championship at Mendip Spring.

The pair share the lead after posting two-under par totals of 69 on day when the parched fairways that resulted in unpredictable bounce, extra yards of run and hard greens made scoring difficult.

Not that historically the challenging north Somerset venue has been a fertile source of sub-par scores in this tournament. Just five, including Hunt, were in the red after last year’s event.

Then Hunt finished tied-third on one-under en route to winning the region’s Carling Marstons-sponsored Order of Merit.

However, having played in just one event this season the pro from St Mellons Golf Club, Cardiff, looks unlikely to retain his title but he showed what might have been in a round in which the highlight was an eagle at the par-five 16^th.

Reflecting on his round, he said: “It was very difficult out there, but I holed some good putts, so I’m not unhappy with that.”

Meanwhile Cruse is well-placed to win not one but two trophies.

In addition to the main event, the tournament features a competition for assistants and, as a PGA trainee at St Enodoc Golf Club, Cornwall, he is eligible to contest both after a round that began inauspiciously with a bogey but ended with back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16.

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