DP World Tour: Scotland's Connor Syme and Grant Forrest amongst leaders after first round of Open de España with Sergio Garcia one back
There is a three-way tie for the lead after the first round of the Open de Espana; Sergio Garcia sits one shot back; The Open de Espana continues on Friday October 9 from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 8 October 2026 19:36, UK
Scotland's Connor Syme and Grant Forrest both made a five-under-par 66 to share a three-way lead after the opening round of the Open de Espana in Madrid, where Sergio Garcia sits just one shot back.
Starting on the 10th, Syme made a quick start with back-to-back birdies then rolled in a 52-foot putt at the 15th as he headed into the turn five under.
A tap-in birdie at the fourth saw Syme take the solo lead at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, but he was then not able to save par on the eighth after finding the rough off the tee.
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Forrest also started his round on the back nine and after two bogeys, on 13 and then three, he finished strongly with a run of three birdies through the closing six holes.
Eugenio Chacarra made the lowest first round in seven appearances at his national open with a 66, which included two eagles as well as three bogeys, to also share the lead.
However, he is struggling with pain and will assess how he feels over the next 24 hours.
"It's not good, suffering a lot. It's been tough, not sure what is going to happen tomorrow," Chacarra said after his round.
"I need to take care of myself. Obviously, I got a good round but how I feel physically is not great.
"It doesn't hurt when I'm swinging, so I can still make a score but it's been really tough to walk.
"The pain I had on the last 12 holes, I don't know if it is worth it as I have a lot to play the next couple of weeks.
"I've got 24 hours to rest and see how it feels in the morning. I've got a lot to play for, I've got four weeks that are really important to me."
Garcia, whose stay with LIV Golf appears to be coming to an end, is in a group at four under, with an eagle on the fourth and four birdies offsetting two bogeys.
Daniel Hillier landed the keys to a new BMW iX5 with his first hole-in-one on the DP World Tour at the par-three 17th.
"I wasn't too happy with the strike," Hillier said.
"I was telling it to go the whole way, but it kind of hung in the air for a little bit longer than I thought, and then, yeah, heard some cheers - a little bit of disbelief for a while, but it's nice to see it go in."
The New Zealander went on to finish in the group alongside Garcia, Spain's Angel Ayora and Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, whose 67 was blemish-free.
Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, though, had a frustrating round on his return from injury, finishing down the field at two over.
The Open de Espana continues on Friday October 9 from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf.
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