Julien Quesne only dropped one shot on a difficult scoring day at Galgorm Castle
Frenchman and two-time European Tour winner Julien Quesne has a one-shot lead at the Northern Ireland Open after an opening four-under-par 66.
On a tough scoring day, the 40-year-old's bogey on 17 was his sole dropped shot as he regrouped with a birdie to move clear of a four-strong group.
France's Clement Berardo, US man Tyler Koivisto and English pair Bradley Moore and Alfie Plant all fired rounds of 67.
Naas native Conor O'Rourke, 29, is the leading Irishman three off the pace.
O'Rourke carded five birdies - including one at the last after his eagle attempt narrowly missed - and it left him one ahead of Whitehead man JR Galbraith who regrouped impressively from a lost-ball double bogey at the 16th to pick up shots at both the closing holes.
Galbraith had also suffered a mishap at the third when forced to reload after an errant drive which resulted in his first double bogey but his only other concession came at the ninth, as his round was tidied up by five birdies.
Northern Ireland's amateur star Tom McKibbin is only five off the pace in the European Challenge Tour event which is taking place thanks to support from the R&A after an opening 71 which included three birdies and four bogeys.
Hoey suffers horror finish
Tournament ambassador Michael Hoey looked to be in a promising position when standing at one under after 13 but suffered an horrendous closing run as dropped shots on 14, 16 and 17 were followed by a quadruple bogey nine at the last.
Hoey pulled his tee shot left into the trees before compounding the error with this second ball when he took an incorrect drop and relief from course signage on the par five and incurred a two-stroke penalty. He eventually needed to hole a long putt from the back of the green to avoid hitting double figures.
The Galgorm Castle tournament professional's 76 left him two behind disability golf's rising star Brendan Lawlor.
Fresh from becoming the first disabled golfer to compete in a European Tour event last week, the Dundalk man produced a creditable display on the opening day at the Ballymena venue.
Double bogeys at the third and ninth saw him turning in four over par but he held his round together well in a back nine whose two birdies included one at the last.
Brendan Lawlor, who is the world's fourth-ranked disabled golf, performed creditably as he fired an opening 74 at Galgorm Castle
Those behind Lawlor included England's Richard Mansell, who is second in the European Challenge Tour rankings but had to be content with an opening 75.
Seventeen-year-old Galgorm Castle amateur Josh Hill suffered one of the hard luck stories of the day as he finished on 76 after a cruel double bogey at the last.
Hill had played the previous 10 holes in two under par after taking a quadruple bogey eight at the third and also dropping two shots at the short seventh.
Those who joined Hill on 76 included another Ballymena man Dermot McElroy and Derry player Ruaidhri McGee.
Thursday's action started off a huge month for the Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort venue.
The Galgorm Castle course also welcomes the Irish Open in late September when Open champion Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell are set to lead the entry.
