England's Daniel Gavins has responded impressively to a stroke of bad luck to claim a narrow lead after the first round of the Magical Kenya Open.
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Gavins holed from about 21 metres for an unlikely birdie on his final hole of the day at Muthaiga Golf Club after his approach had hit the pin and rebounded to the front of the green.
It was a ninth birdie of the day for the 30-year-old and completed an opening seven-under-par 64, which left him a shot ahead of Johannes Veerman and Shubhankar Sharma in pursuit of a second European Tour title.
"It was pretty rusty to start with, I hadn't played for a couple of weeks but I just started holing a few putts," said Gavins, who won the World Invitational last year.
Veerman began his round with a tap-in eagle on the par-five 10th, his opening hole of the day, while Sharma carded six birdies and no bogeys in a flawless 66.
England's Lee Slattery and Scotland's Ewen Ferguson are two shots off the pace on five under par, with defending champion Justin Harding another two strokes back following a 68.
Newcastle's Blake Windred, the lone Australian in the field who'd won his first pro tournament at the Victorian PGA Championship in December, shot a level par 71, which left him in joint 65th position.
Australian Associated Press
