Conor Purcell’s first act on Friday will be to finish out the final hole of Round 1 as darkness prematurely ended a solid start to the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as Doha Golf Club.

The Dubliner, who started on the 10th, sat on one-under par after 17 holes, five shots behind leaders Robert Thompson of England and Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

It could have been better for the Irishman with a slow start leaving him with work to do.

A birdie at the par-five 10th set him on his way, but a double bogey followed at the next as he twice found sand with another shot dropped at 13 after three-putting.

Purcell recovered well from there though with birdies at the 18th, fifth and seventh leaving him on the cusp of an under-par round if he can avoid bogey or worse on his final hole.

Laurie Canter narrowly missed out on a hole-in-one as he began his bid for back-to-back victories.

Canter’s tee shot on the eighth hole caught the edge of the hole and finished just inches away to set up the first of five birdies in an eight-hole stretch in an opening four-under-par 68.

Canter claimed his second DP World Tour title on Sunday, beating compatriot Dan Brown and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal in a play-off to win the Bahrain Championship.

Twelve players will finish their first rounds on Friday morning.

Additional reporting: PA