Markus Brier has set the early pace at Royal Aberdeen as he bids to record his first Legends Tour win of his career but the Austrian is refusing to get carried away.
Brier, who finished tied for 11th last week at the French Legends Open and was tied for sixth at the PGA Seniors Championship last month, carded a bogey-free six under par 65 to lead the field in the first round of the Scottish Senior Open.
The 53 year-old from Vienna’s flawless round produced birdies at the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, 11th and 16th before he avoided dropping a shot at the last with a fine recovery after a poor tee shot.
A delighted Brier said: “I’m very pleased. The conditions were perfect with hardly any wind and I played nicely. I’ve had a good start to the tournament but you don’t win in the first round. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
“I had two nice putts from 15-20 feet early on which got me up and running and I was able to keep it going and did not make any mistakes.”
Brier succeeded where the rest of the field struggled in making the most of his chances in the calm conditions.
He would love it if the weather stayed mild for the weekend but insists he is ready for whatever the elements throws his way in the remaining two rounds.
“Anytime you see the ball rolling in and there are no bogeys is a good day at the office. I messed up my tee shot at 18 but the rest was pretty solid.
“I didn’t’ have to up and down much, maybe twice, and my long irons in to the green were pretty good so I didn’t leave myself with any long putts.
“The one on the last I made a good two-putt from downtown so I was really happy. I will be pleased if it stays like this but I have played in wind as well so I don’t bother too much. As long as it doesn’t rain too much I’m happy.”