JC Ritchie made four birdies by his eighth hole on Thursday as he signed for a three-under-par 69 in the first round of the HotelPlanner Tour’s Challenge de Cadiz at Iberostar Real Golf Novo Sancti Petri in Cadiz, Spain.

He started his round on the 10th, and birdied the 13th for the first of three in a row, and then picked up another shot on the 17th, but he made bogey on the par-three 18th. After the turn, he dropped another on the seventh, but got that shot back with a birdie on the eighth.

At three-under-par, he was in a share of seventh at the end of the first round. He was four strokes off the lead, which was held at seven-under-par by Quim Vidal of Spain. Vidal led by one from countryman Rocco Repetto Taylor.

Justin Walters opened with a two-under-par 70 for a share of 10th with 18 other players.