Lloyd Saltman of Scotland carded an 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the European Tour’s Madeira Islands Open on Thursday.

Saltman was the first golfer off the morning tee and matched his best round ever by hitting birdies on four of his first five holes. He finished with nine birdies on the Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra course to go with just one bogey.

“I’m very pleased with my round,” Saltman said.

“It wasn’t easy out there today, with the wind swirling and getting very strong at certain points.

“I have put myself in a great position and I’m here to win. I’ve been working very hard trying to get my game as good as I can and it’s nice to see the work paying off.”

England’s Richard Bland ended two shots behind, with Mark Tullo, Craig Lee, and Joakim Lagergren all a shot further back.