Newport's Phillip Price is not used to starting well at the Wales Open, so his first round score of 68 came as a huge relief to the Ryder Cup hero.

Price finished the first day four under par and along with Jamie Donaldson looked set to fly the flag for Wales in a bid to become the first home winner of the competition.

But Price knows that with 14 holes played, the outcome of the first round could have been a completely different story.

He said: "Going into the final four I was only one under and I wasn't playing that well so to pull it back and get three birdies in the final four holes is a huge bonus for me."

"I've never really started well in the Wales Open so to be on the leaderboard after day one makes a great change."

Elsewhere, Welsh fortunes were mixed.

Monmouth's David Park finished two under par, courtesy of a score of 70.

However, Mark Mouland and Richard Dinsdale both had nightmare rounds and looked certain to miss the cut.

The pair finished the day with rounds of 78 and needed a near miracle to make day three.

Ian Woosnam fared slightly better, shooting a score of 72 to finish the day on level par.

Despite his decent round the Welsh golfing legend was still disappointed with his day.

"I didn't play well and to be honest I'm very disappointed with how things went," said Woosnam.

"The course was set up for a decent score but I didn't take advantage.

"The greens were slightly grainy but that's no excuse for the way I putted and I just can't get comfortable with my swing.

"The last few holes I started to feel slightly better so that's something to build on."

Blackwood's Bradley Dredge felt that after his first round 71, which left him one under, he would have to shoot a second day score of 67 to put himself in contention.

"I had a frustrating day with the putter and that has cost me," admitted Dredge.

"But one under isn't a complete disaster but I'll probably have to shoot 67 or 68 to put myself back in contention.

"But to do that then I need to start giving myself chances to shoot birdies.

"At the moment I'm not getting close enough to the hole and as a result I can't take advantage.

"I just need to sharpen up and things will start to come good."