Philip Walton produced a finishing flourish to banish the worst of his Qualifying School fears yesterday. A first round 68 which he ended with an ace, an eagle, and a birdie put Ireland's 37-year-old Ryder Cup man in second place at San Roque, one behind Swedish pacemaker Fredrik Jacobsson.

Scot Alastair Forsyth led the other half of the field at neighbouring Sotogrande after securing eight birdies in a seven under par 65. Walton's figures of 1-3-3 following his fifth career ace at the 16th, subsequent eagle at the long 17th, and his birdie at the dangerous dog-leg 18th, compares more than favourably to the famous last round barrage by Australian Peter O'Malley at Gleneagles in 1992.

Then he was seven under par for the last five holes to snatch the Scottish Open title from an astonished Colin Montgomerie and a gallery of 25,000. Yesterday only a handful of spectators witnessed Walton's feat of diving five under for the last three holes which should underpin his campaign to regain his full European Tour status.

The salvo could not have arrived at a more opportune moment, for Walton was one over par when he stepped on to the tee at the 207 yards 16th. There were four bogeys on his card in the first 10 holes, and his scratchy golf betrayed his anxiety at finishing in the top 35 of a 168-strong field.

But Walton's next stroke with his four-iron was perfectly drawn into the green, and curled unerringly into the cup.

A drive and five-wood to eight feet at the 544 yards 17th yielded another eagle, then an accurate tee shot and six-iron approach left Walton 25 feet below the 18th hole. He read the putt perfectly, and when his ball dived below ground Walton was home in 32 to be easily the best of the four Ryder Cup players on view. Steven Richardson and Paul Way both had 76, while veteran Gordon J.J Brand returned 75.

"Only five more rounds to go," said Walton, who revealed that he is planning a major overhaul of his game with his long-time coach Bob Torrance.

Today Walton plays his second round at nearby Sotogrande Old where 32 players bettered par in the perfect weather against 26 at headquarters. Gary Murphy was not among them, for he could manage only two birdies in a 74 which contained sixes at two par fives. "It was a sin to bogey those long holes and I kept missing greens on the wrong side," said Murphy.

However, a five-iron approach that landed two feet from the 15th flag for a birdie three helped erase the memory of the duffed chip and three putts that cost him a six at the previous hole, and he is not yet out of the race. Neither are David Higgins and Peter Lawrie despite disappointing starts at San Roque.

Higgins, who birdied two of his first five holes from the 10th, was four over for the last 10, and signed for a 74. Lawrie got out in par from the 10th, and then holed from 15 feet to birdie the first of his inward half. But failure to hit the green at the short second, and the fairway at the fourth, where he went into the water hazard, pegged him to a 73.