Francesco Laporta carded the lowest round of his European Tour career to hit the front after day one of the 2021 Canary Islands Championship. The Italian was a picture of consistency last week as Golf Costa Adeje hosted the first of back-to-back tournaments, but he showed he had truly found his feet in the final event of the Canary Islands Swing, posting a 62 to get to nine under par and lead by one from Spain’s Scott Fernandez. The home contingent are well represented on the top half of the leaderboard, with Alfredo Garcia Heredia and Adri Arnaus then at seven under par alongside Joël Stalter of France, while Pep Angles is amongst ten players at six under par. A 2015 Qualifying School graduate and two-time Challenge Tour winner, Laporta triggered the second ‘59 watch’ of the day as he got to nine under after 14 holes but parred his way in to card his best round of the 2021 Race to Dubai by five shots. Earlier in the day Rhys Enoch of Wales had raced into the early lead, going nine under through eight holes thanks to a birdie-eagle-eagle-birdie-birdie start, before recording back to back bogeys around the turn to sign for a 65 and join the group at six under par. Player Quotes Francesco Laporta: "It was one of those days when everything goes in the right direction. I started thinking about 59 also when I was nine under through 14. On 17 I was putting for birdie from five metres. I was thinking 'just make this and go for eagle on the last'. I wasn't so lucky on the last hole, my drive went into the trees. But I'm still nine under so I'm pretty happy about the round. "I saw this scores this morning with Rhys Enoch, who was eight under after eight and I knew the course would give us lots of chances to make birdies. You start to feel a bit of pressure when you start to think about a 59, but then you just need to concentrate on your game and try to do your best." Scott Fernandez: "I just stuck to it. The moment the round changed for me was on 11, I holed a nice bunker shot, it was perfect. That kind of got me going. It was tricky on the back nine with the wind, a few shots were hard to judge with the upslope. I was just trying every time to pick a good number and hit the target. Came in with a few nice shots. "The front nine is kind of tricky right next to the ocean, you get all the wind. But hey, we've been playing here for more than a week now. I missed the cut by one last week, had a nice practice over the weekend and worked pretty hard, got a bit of rest, nice practice rounds Monday and Tuesday. Those little things just add up." Alfredo Garcia-Heredia: "I played the five par fives well - I made five birdies there. I played solid on the par threes, saved some good pars - on the 15th especially. I've been playing well the last few weeks and just kept doing what I have been doing.

Garrick Higgo carded four closing birdies in a round of 64 to continue his remarkable run of form and take a two shot lead into the final round of the 2021 Canary Islands Championship. The South African is seeking his third European Tour title - and second in three weeks - after winning the opening event of the Canary Islands Swing, the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open, on the back of a top five at the Austrian Golf Open. A top ten at the Tenerife Open followed and on day three of the second week at Golf Costa Adeje the 21 year old moved to 20 under par, taking his total score in 11 rounds on the Canary Islands to an incredible 61 under par. England's Richard Mansell is his closest challenger at 18 under par after a seven under 64 of his own, one ahead of Scot Calum Hill who signed for a 66. Finland's Tapio Pulkkanen matched the course record with a ten under par 61 to sit alongside Australian Maverick Antcliff and England's Andrew Johnston at 15 under par and five shots off the lead. Player Quotes Garrick Higgo: "I had a nice lie (on the 18th), I've been working on my short game a lot the last three months. It was nice to hit that one pretty close. The lie was good so I knew I was going to get some spin on it. "I was just trying to stay patient, because I'm hitting good putts. I'm hitting the ball a lot better than I have the last few weeks, so I'm giving myself a lot more chances. It's hard to stay patient when you've got a lot of putts. That shot on 15 turned it around a little bit. "I hadn't been playing well up until Austria. But I've been working hard, so when it's going your way you just need to enjoy it." Richard Mansell: "I've seen guys going low on this course for two weeks now. I feel like I've played a few rounds where I could have gone really low and didn't. I wanted to cut out mistakes and thankfully my short game was good today. Holed a few putts, which for the last few weeks has been missing. I've already said if I can putt well I'll be there or there abouts. "The biggest mindset aim was staying gritty and not letting bad stuff phase me. I had a couple of holes where I had a wobble in the middle to back end of the front nine and my short game got me out of trouble. That's what you've got to do at this level." Calum Hill: "It was a good score for what I had to play with. My driver wasn't behaving itself all day. On the 12th (for a par save) I yanked left, duffed the second shot, hit a very average wedge and hit a great putt. Didn't look like a four but I managed to come off with a four. "In order for me to win I'll need a bit of help from Garrick. If he plays like he did today he'll run away with it, so I'll need a very low one and a bit of help."