BATTLING Kevin Spurgeon admitted he was not at his best in the first round of the British Seniors Open, but believes he still has a chance of making tomorrow's halfway cut.

The 54-year-old Ferndown touring professional carded a two-over-par 74 at Sunningdale this afternoon for a share of 72nd place.

“I didn’t play that well to be honest,” Spurgeon told the Echo. “I hit a few loose iron shots and hung in there to give myself a chance to make the cut.

“I will be looking to make par or better to make sure of being here for the weekend,” added Spurgeon who is due to tee off at 7.50am tomorrow morning.

Spurgeon dropped shots at the 10th and 11th during a heavy downpour.

“I missed a three foot putt on the 10th, and had to wait for the 11th green to be cleared of water before we could play.”

Spurgeon had dropped two shots on the second after a birdie four on the relatively easy first.

“I hit a fairly good drive, but let a five iron slip and found the heather. I had a bad lie and shanked my attempt to get out first time.

“I managed to birdie the next and did nothing spectacular after that.”

Spurgeon was level with former Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer and one better than other Major champions Ben Crenshaw and Scott Simpson.

American Fred Funk is the overnight leader on six-under-par – two shots ahead of four players tied in second and one further infront of Greg Norman and Open runner-up Tom Watson.