At Boavista in the opening round of TEG 5, Mullin and Jon Baker traded the Trophy lead all day. Mullin struck first. The birdie at the par-5 3rd gave him the outright lead in both the TEG 5 Trophy (Net VP) and the TEG 5 Green Jacket (Gross). Baker drew level with a bogey at the 4th. He drew level again with a birdie at the 16th. Neither time did he get his nose in front, which becomes the story of the day. Mullin settled it at the last, where a bogey at the 18th was still enough to retake the Trophy lead outright. He finished the round holding it by a gap of zero on net-versus-par. A lead cannot be held by less.

The Jacket race was an altogether calmer affair. The Trophy contenders were packed into a span running from -3 to 6. The gross scores that day ranged from 12 to 35. That is a considerably roomier neighbourhood, and it left Mullin's Jacket lead far more comfortable than his Trophy one. Both men produced their best rounds of the tournament. Mullin's 83 was a course personal best.

Gregg Williams's opening round at Boavista never found any rhythm. He lost nine shots in the first four holes. It began with a triple bogey at the 1st, and was reinforced by double bogeys at the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th. Each one was delivered with the steady regularity of a man following a plan. By the second hole he was already bottom of the TEG 5 Wooden Spoon race.

The other end of the round removed any remaining ambiguity. A double bogey at the 16th set the tone. The 17th produced a quintuple bogey, a 9 on a hole ranked among the easiest on the course by stroke index. The 18th then yielded a triple bogey, because it would have been inconsistent to stop. Ten shots gone across three holes, neatly answering the nine lost in his first four.

The middle offered nothing to build on. The round finished well outside his best figures at the course. Eight visits to Boavista have not yet produced the pace he needed here.

At Boavista in round one of the 2012 TEG, the bottom of the Wooden Spoon table changed hands three times. Henry Meller got there first, with a quadruple bogey on the par-5 13th. Stuart Neumann then made his case. A triple bogey on the 18th was followed by another on the 16th, and last place was his. A third triple bogey, at the 5th, dropped him from third all the way to the foot of the field. A double bogey at the 7th kept him there, in case anyone had doubts. Meller briefly reclaimed the position with a double bogey at the 9th, an act of genuine generosity. Neumann repaid it with a bogey at the 10th and took the place back for good. He closed the round in last, three points clear of the trouble above him. Few men have defended a position so thoroughly.