2025 Platinum
McKinnon, attached to Irvine for the last six years, was the first player on the course and used his local knowledge to full advantage to return a three under-par 68.
That score stayed unchallenged throughout the day and the 34-year-old McKinnon can now look forward to a trip to Royal Porthcawl from 12 - 15 June for the finals of the £78,000 tournament.
The winner over the famous Welsh links will not only pocket a cheque for £10,000 but will be guaranteed a place in the Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team to defend the trophy against the USA in Georgia in September. And there is also the incentive of a place in the European Tour's flagship BMW Championship at Wentworth next year.
"The course is in great shape, better than I've ever seen it at this time of year and to get round in three under made me more than happy," said McKinnon, who was a member of the Scottish side who won the PGA's of Europe International Team Championship last season.
"To be honest I'm surprised that somebody didn't go lower throughout the day, but I'll take that.
McKinnon birdied the third and fourth holes, dropped his only shot of the day at the sixth and birdied the 14th and 15th back to back.
And the key to his success? "I hit 17 greens in regulation today and that is always going to give you a chance of getting a decent score.
"I haven't played in the Glenmuir for a few years and I'm looking forward to going to Porthcawl because I've never played there before."
Paul Malone (Braid Hills) and Craig Ronald (Carluke) emerged as McKinnon's closest challengers, both returning one under 70's.
And among a five-man group on 71 was Cowal's Russell Weir, whose association with the Glenmuir is already the stuff of legend,
The 55-year-old Weir was teeing up in the event for the first time in seven years and now has the opportunity to win the championship for a third time, something he almost achieved back in 2000 when he was beaten in a play-off at St Andrews by Bob Cameron.
Seniors Tour commitments and a spate of injury and illness problems have blighted him in the interim, but now Weir will head for Porthcawl aiming to earn yet another PGA Cup appearance to add to the eight successive matches he played in between 1986 and 2000.
Thirteen players from the region qualified for the finals of a tournament that has now been backed by Glenmuir for 15 years.
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Watson Stages Late Show At Royal Porthcawl
12th Apr 2007
Michael Watson staged his own late, late show to lead the qualifiers from the West Region into the finals of the Glenmuir PGA Club Professional Championship at Royal Porthcawl yesterday, Thursday 12 April.
The 37-year-old from Weymouth was out in the day's very last group and came in with a one-under-par 71 - the only player in a field of 77 to return red figures.
And Watson will now be looking forward with confidence to a return to Royal Porthcawl for the finals of the £78,000 tournament from 12 - 15 June.
The winner will not only pocket a cheque for £10,000 but will be guaranteed a place in the Great Britain and Ireland team to defend the PGA Cup against the USA in Georgia in September. There is also the incentive of a place in the field for the European Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next year.
"Getting the pace of the greens this early in the season is quite difficult but it was fairly benign weather for Porthcawl so I'm surprised that mine is the only score better than par," said Watson.
He didn't get off to the most auspicious start with a bogey at the short par four opening hole.
Birdies at the third and fifth were sandwiched by another bogey at the fourth but Watson's eventful front nine saw him eagle the eighth and bogey the ninth.
A dropped shot at the 10th returned him to level par but a birdie at 16 proved enough for him to finish the day on top of the leaderboard.
"I'm looking forward to coming back here in June and hopefully I can put together a few more sub-par rounds," he added.
Until Watson came in it looked as if Royal Porthcawl's tricky wind and fast greens would get the best of everyone, and the four players who carded level par 72s were sitting pretty.
Veteran Robin Mann, who holds a full European Seniors Tour card, may have to juggle his playing commitments to get back to Porthcawl after his excellent round - which could have been even better.
"I was three under after nine and then I missed short putts at the 10th and 11th for birdies," he said. "I suppose 72 is a good score but I should have been looking at somewhere in the 60s."
Seasoned campaigners Graham Laing and Nick Mitchell, the latter playing Royal Porthcawl for the first time in 23 years, also carded 72 along with a player at the other end of the spectrum, Sean Mason.
The 26-year-old from Teignmouth was playing in the event for the first time and he too could have gone much lower after three birdies in the first 10 holes.
A total of 23 players qualified for the finals from the host region.