Sutton Green's Bernard White brightened up a miserable opening day at the Ryder Cup Wales 2010 Welsh Open PGA Championship at Royal St David's with a hole in one.
In wet, windy conditions, White's feat at the par-three 11th contributed to a first-round score of six-over-par 75.
He finished the day six shots off co-leaders Cameron Clark and Matthew McGuire, who took advantage of calmer conditions early and late in the day to shoot level-par 69s.
White admitted the hole in one was a timely boost at a time when he had all but given up.
"It was a real struggle out there," he said. "I was probably at the point of despair when I hit that hole in one so it came at a good time.
"It was probably the only good shot I hit all day, apart from my putts. I knew when I hit it that it was a good shot and could be close.
"It was dead on line. But sometimes those ones end up not so good so thankfully this one rolled in.
"It's my first hole in one as a pro which is nice."
After seeing some high scores throughout the day and not playing his best, White said he was happy to only be five shots off the lead.
"It's a par-69 course but it's very difficult," he added.
"I didn't play very well so I'm happy with my score and with any luck I'll do better tomorrow."