Filippo Celli has taken the early lead of the 2022 European Amateur Championship.
The Italian player carded seven birdies and an eagle at Parador El Saler to top the leaderboard on Day 1 of the tournament.
Celli took advantage of the calmer conditions in the morning and was just one par away from a bogey-free round, although a three-putt on the last totalled 64 (-8).
"Today I played really good from the tee, and on this course it's the key." said Celli after his round. "I also did a really good job on the greens. The pins weren't too tough today, but the putter was on fire"
Celli's closest challenger is Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. The Dane was one of only two players out of the 144-strong field to go bogey free in Round 1. At five-under-par, Neergaard-Petersen sits three shots back and alone in second place.
Four-under-par was a popular score in the opening round. Nine players shot rounds of 68 (-4) and sit in a tie for third.
The majority of these scores came earlier in the day in less windy conditions, although Germany's Tim Tillmanns managed seven birdies during the trickier part of the day.
Amongst the nine players at four-under-par are Spain's Luis Masaveu, and Jorge Siyuan Hao, the reigning Boys' European Young Masters champion.
The highest ranked player in the field, Ludvig Åberg (SWE), is one of 36 players under par. The 2021 runner-up carded a 71 (-1) today and sits in a tie for 22nd.
Home favourite, David Puig (ESP), struggled in Round 1. Five dropped shots led to a round of 75 (+3), leaving the Spaniard 11 shots back in a tie for 75th.
54 holes remain to decide the 2022 European Amateur champion. The full leaderboard, and livescoring from Rounds 2, 3 and 4 can be found below:
FULL LEADERBOARD
