Joe Horowitz fired a first round 66 to set the early pace at the 2008 Goslings Invitational at Belmont Hills Golf Club.

The Canadian Tour player finished on four-under-par to take a three-shot lead over Danny King after yesterday's first round.

Horowitz's performance was all the more impressive because of the tough conditions that the players faced, with a strong wind making things difficult for most of the day.

Defending champion Tim Conley battled his way to a one-over par 71, to finish in a four-way tie for fifth alongside former PGA Tour player Mike Donald and local professionals Dwayne Pearman and Dwayne Gibson.

Other notable scores from the first round were a level-par 70 for last year's runner-up and 2008 Bermuda Open champion Brian McCann. Fellow Canadian Dennis Hendershot, CEO of the Great Lakes Tour, also shot a 70, and is tied for third with McCann.

Donald's round could arguably have been the best of the day, after he had to play his first round of the tournament with rented clubs. The American arrived on the Island successfully, but his clubs did not.

"It was difficult, it was one of the harder rounds I have played here," said Conley.

"The greens are difficult, they are a little rough this year, and the wind just makes it a little tougher. But we're playing for four days, so who knows what guys are going to shoot.

"I'm sure there will be two or three guys shoot 68, 69 today, but I don't think anybody's going to shoot five-under. The sixteenth is playing hard, and 18 is always tough, and a couple of the other holes are just frustrating.

"But I'm just glad to be back on the Island again. And the good thing about this is that it's a fun little golf course, it's demanding, you require a lot paitience, and for Mal Gosling to keep doing this like his father did, that's great, and I hope I'm playing here for another 20 years."

Conley came into the week after unsuccessfully trying to regain his place on the Champions Tour, and is looking forward to defending his title.

"I played a very bad last nine (at tour school)," he said. "I shot 41 on my last nine holes for a 76, and I finished ninth. I was third when I started and I was playing pretty good, and I choked, I absolutely gagged.

"So now I am a conditional member on the Champions Tour, so I am the fourth alternate when we tee up.

"I need a lot of guys not to want to play, after that we'll see how many opportunities to play. I was hurt this year, so I didn't get to play in very many. I played seven this year, and 14 the year before, so I figured I wanted to play in as many as I can.

"But it's the same story on any tour, the better you play, the more you get to play, the more money you make. It's pretty simple, you've got to earn your way up there, and it's frustrating.

"But anyway, this one here (the Goslings) is always fun right before Christmas, and it's a little break at the end of the schedule."

Conley was also keen to clear up any misunderstanding about his reasons for skipping this year's Bermuda Open, a tournament he has won on several occasions. There had been a suggestion that Conley had missed the event because the size of the purse hadn't made it worth his while, s suggestion he emphatically denied.

"I was at the Champions Tour school which was much more important," he said.

"But I have been coming to Bermuda for 25 years, and I was coming when first place was $2000, and this year it was $7000.

"If I could have come I would have, and I don't think it is fair to (BGA administrators) Bob Legere and Rick Bartlett to suggest that it was about the money."