It was champagne time for Marcos Pastor this morning as he claimed the first European Challenge Tour hole-in-one of the season with his first career ace at the Turkish Airlines Challenge.

The Spaniard approached the 185-yard par three third at Gloria Golf Club with a seven iron and sent a perfect shot onto the green which found its way into the hole.

Pastor posted a three over par 75 in his opening round but after starting his second round with back-to-back pars, he achieved his first career ace on the third hole.

He went on to shoot four birdies and two bogeys before closing his round with an eagle on the 18^th hole to card a six under par 66 and now sits on three under par, just inside the projected cut line.

The Spaniard will undoubtedly never forget his maiden ace, however because of the layout of the hole, he didn’t actually see the ball drop in the cup.

“I didn’t see the ball go in the hole because it’s up-hill but I saw the other group and I knew it was a hole-in-one,” Pastor said.

“I saw the bounce and thought it would be good, but I didn’t know.

“I hit it well. I hit a six iron yesterday and it was a bit long so I thought I had to drop it back so I hit it a bit shorter. I wasn’t sure if I could reach the hole with the seven iron but I did it.”

The 29 year old will treasure the ball he used to score his first hole-in-one, especially as he signed off with an eagle on the 18^th hole.

“I missed a few putts in the first nine holes but I started playing really, really well,” he said.

“The second nine is a little bit harder than the first nine. I had to putt a lot on the second nine.

“I made a stupid bogey on the 17^th. I went a little bit long and then made a good chip but missed a putt from inside two feet.

“I’ll keep the ball from the hole-in-one. I was going to use it on the 18^th because I needed to make an eagle and I used it on the 18^th and made an eagle! It’s a great ball.”