This week Andrew Marshall is competing in the inaugural Portugal Invitational at The Els Club, Vilamoura. The tournament is another landmark moment for senior golf, bringing the PGA TOUR Champions to mainland Europe for the first time. The 54-hole championship has attracted a world-class field featuring Major champions, Ryder Cup legends and some of the biggest names in senior golf. The inaugural Portugal Invitational got underway on Friday and, thanks to our own roving reporter, Melly Harbour, we were able to follow Andrew's round in far more detail than the scorecard alone can tell us. Starting from the 10th tee, Andy settled into his round quickly. Birdies at the 11th and 12th soon had him under par. Melly reported that Andy was striking the ball well throughout the opening nine, recovering brilliantly after finding trouble at his sixth hole before producing another excellent shot into the demanding 17th. The only blemish came at the 18th after missing the fairway and leaving himself a difficult up-and-down from a greenside bunker. His par putt just slipped by, but he still turned in 35, one under par. The inward nine proved a little more frustrating. The opening par five offered an early opportunity but, after almost reaching the green in two, three putts resulted in a bogey. Two solid pars followed before an excellent tee shot at the 4th set up another birdie. Unfortunately, untidy bogeys at his 7th and 8th holes left him one over par for the day. Then came the perfect finish. Standing just off the 9th green, Andy rolled in a magnificent 45-foot birdie putt, climbing a severe slope before disappearing into the middle of the hole. It was a fitting reward for a solid day's golf and earned him a level-par 72, leaving him tied for 52nd after the opening round. Afterwards, Melly told me that Andy was disappointed with his score and headed straight to the practice range to work on a couple of things. From the outside, though, Melly felt Andy had played solid golf and perhaps just needed to be a little more aggressive—a comment that's always easier to make when you're watching rather than playing. With two rounds remaining, Andy tees off again from the 10th hole at 11:18 on Saturday. On a course with five reachable par fives, there are plenty of birdie opportunities, so don't be surprised if he makes a strong move up the leaderboard. A big thank you to Melly Harbour for providing our exclusive on-course reports. They give us all back at Dereham Golf Club a real insight into how Andy is playing, beyond what the scorecard can ever show. Good luck for round two, Andy—we'll all be following your progress. Further reading: If you'd like to know more about the inaugural Portugal Invitational and why this event is such an important addition to the golfing calendar, the Legends Tour has published an excellent article: https://legendstour.com/article/legends-tour-stars-embrace-portugal-as-inaugural-portugal-invitational-gets-underway?? Steve Beckham