First off, first in and first on the leaderboard. It was a case of rise and shine for David Law yesterday and he certainly did that at Macdonald Spey Valley as he eased himself to the head of the standings during the first round of the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge with an eye-opening five-under 66.

“I got up at 5am and went for a run to get me going,” said the Scot as he informed the golf writers of a fitness regime which just about brought on a cramp in our typing fingers at the mere thought of such early exertion.

Law got himself going all right. A neatly assembled five-under round in menacing, gusty conditions thrust him to the front as the former Scottish Amateur champion put his fairly modest record in this event behind him.

“I’ve never played well here and 29th is my best finish,” reported Law who finished one ahead of the in-form Welshman, Stuart Manley, and Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo.

The home comforts at a tournament in his native land may have been few and far between down the seasons but the fixtures and fittings of his card yesterday were pretty impressive.

On a testing day when there was certainly potential for calamity – former Amateur champion Romain Langasque racked up a crippling nine while Korea’s Jae Woo Shim had a grisly 10 – Law’s bogey-free round was worthy of plaudits while his neatly executed up-and-down from the sand for a birdie on the 17th concluded his five birdies.

“There were plenty of places where you could mess up so going bogey-free on a day like this was very pleasing,” said the 27-year-old from Aberdeen.

Law, who enjoyed a shimmering amateur career and continues to be mentored by the former Open champion Paul Lawrie, is still seeking a breakthrough win after five years on the Challenge Tour.

He was leading at the halfway stage in Belgium a couple of weeks ago but had to settle for 13th place. The signs have given Law encouragement, though, as his professional fortunes continue to improve after a period of personal trauma.

“We lost our little boy in the summer last year, so off the course it was quite a tough year,” he said of that family anguish. “When that sort of thing happens I really wasn’t interested that much in golf. The whole year was tough but it’s just been good to get going again.

“I hadn’t been leading a golf tournament out here for over two years until Belgium so it was unfamiliar in that respect. But it was good to be up there again. Hopefully I can draw on that this week.”

Manley has been second and first in his last two events on the second-tier circuit and his 67 put him into early contention for back-to-back wins.

A skin cancer scare, which required an operation on his arm during the winter, left him sidelined for over 10 weeks but the former Walker Cup player is back in full flight now even if his actual ball-striking is giving him some concerns.

“When they told me it was a skin cancer there was a bit of panic but the doctor said it was one of the least dangerous types and quite common,” reflected Manley after a six-birdie round.

“I hit some pretty average shots today and I’ve been hitting it poorly. But I’m getting round with good course management and my short game is sharp. Sometimes when I’m hitting it well, I get lured into thinking the game is easier than it is. I’m more focused when I have to grind away.”

Liam Johnston, a winner on the Challenge Tour in Spain this season, and local man Duncan Stewart both opened with two-under 69s while Oban rookie Robert MacIntyre was left to reflect on a double-bogey on the 17th which put him back to one-under. It could’ve been worse, though.

“I went left off the tee with the first drive, then hit a provisional and it went left as well,” said MacIntyre. “I lost the first one and the second was plugged. I got a free drop from the plug and managed to two putt from 50 feet.

“To get in at one-under, I’m absolutely delighted with that. It was a great double-bogey.”