by all at Spey Valley

Gagli soars with an albatross in land of the osprey

In an area famed for its ospreys, Italian Lorenzo Gagli bagged an albatross at the Scottish Hydro Challenge at Aviemore yesterday.

Gagli grabbed a 2 at the par-5 13th – his third hole of the day – at the Spey Valley course, holing his 246yd three-iron second shot.

That spectacular effort brought the Florence 31-year-old, who has twice been on the European Tour, back to level par as, two holes earlier, he opened his round with a triple bogey 7 at the 11th. A double-bogey 6 at the third saw him shoot a rollercoaster two-over 73.

Gagli said: “At the 13th the wind was helping from the right and I hit a perfect shot, a low three iron. I didn’t see it go in but it kind of bounced first and ran on into the hole, it was a great feeling as it was my first albatross.

“That 2 made up for my triple bogey at the 11th, my first hole of the day. I hit a perfect tee shot with a driver and was just on the left in the light rough.

“I thought it was a simple shot with an eight iron but I got a flier and lost the ball on the right in deep grass. I had no chance of finding it and made bogey with my second ball.”

Gagli admitted that the rest of his round was also adventurous when he added: “Unfortunately, I made a double at the third and went on to bogey four and five as well.

“It was really tough out there with the wind and rain. Normally, I like this course but with this weather it wasn't so good. If you go in the heather it’s a lost ball.

“Hopefully, we will have a better day weather-wise tomorrow and shoot good numbers.”

SWEDE EFFORT: Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, who shot an opening 67, plays his second shot at the 17th hole, while, inset, Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy also shrugged off the conditions to shoot the same score

Cover-up: Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey, left, tries to grab a snack, while Australian Scott Arnold also takes shelter from the elements

Lorenzo Gagli holed a perfect three iron for a 2 at par-5 13th