SIMON Dainty, last year's Suffolk Open champion, and his five-handicap amateur partner Nick Denny from Fynn Valley, set a hot pace on the opening day of the design portfolio marketing services PGA Autumn Classic.

By Tony Garnett

SIMON Dainty, last year's Suffolk Open champion, and his five-handicap amateur partner Nick Denny from Fynn Valley, set a hot pace on the opening day of the design portfolio marketing services PGA Autumn Classic.

They formed a successful foursomes partnership in glorious sunny conditions at Aldeburgh to end one under par. Their next test comes today in the better ball competition which has a 9am shotgun start at Thorpeness.

Dainty and Denny did not drop a shot until the long par three 15th hole by which time they had three net birdies. They had another bogey at the last, the only other time they failed to reach the green in regulation.

The greens were fast and some pin positions were testing while many a partnership found deep gorse off the tee.

Robert Brightman and Mark Yeomans of Millbrook are two shots behind while Kieran Canham of Bury St Edmunds and Dan Wilson are joint third at two over par.

Orsett's Luke Eggleston, with Essex county player Steve McAnally are only four shots behind and have the class to make up lost ground.

There is every chance that Simon Harrison and Peter Cooney, five shots off the pace, can make a charge today on a course they know well.

The Aldeburgh pairing of Simon Reeve and David Cargill are one shot ahead of Keith Preston and Edward Hyde in a mid-table battle with local pride at stake.

Scores

67: S Dainty and N Denny (Fynn Valley).

69: R Brightman and M Yeomans (Millbrook).

70: K Canham (Bury St Edmunds) and D Wilson, T Simm and D Robinson.

71: R Leonard (Mid Herts) and C Munden, L Eggleston and S McAnally (Orsett), D Belcher and A Marks.

Other scores included

72: S Harrison and P Cooney (Thorpeness), T Hide (Frinton) and C Marsh.

73: F Hill and T Rowan Robinson (Thorpeness), J Hudson (Rivenhall Oaks) and J English, R Gray (Thorndon Park) and B Leigh.

74: M Baker (Colchester) and P Cork, M Stokes (Rayleigh DR) and P Lee.

75: S Reeve and D Cargill (Aldeburgh), A Robinson (Felixstowe Ferry) and C Callaway.

76: K Preston and E Hyde (Aldeburgh), C Oldrey and R Newton (Thorpeness), P Wilby (Fynn Valley) and M Duley (Colchester), J Saunders (Verulam) and C Leigh.

77: J Fryatt (Thorpe Hall) and I Restall, C Laurence (Stock Brook) and G Thomas

79: M Angel (Colchester) and D Roe.

81: N Lythgoe (Royal Norwich) and J Bourke, L Platts (retired) and S Sutton, R Joyce (West Essex) and J V T Marks (Woodbridge), P Rains (Bury Golf Range) and J Alexander, R Pudney (Royal Cromer) and A Hill.

83: L Patterson (Royal Cromer) and S Fuller.

84: T Johnson (Woodbridge) and M Grayling, A Cotton (Ufford Park) and R Kent (Bury St Edmunds).