Sara Byrne fired a five-under 67 on her Epson Tour debut to get her bid for an LPGA card off to the perfect start.

But the Douglas star insisted she was keeping her feet firmly planted in the ground.

Byrne made seven birdies to end the day tied for third in the Central Florida Championship at Winter Haven, just two shots behind leader Savannah Carlson.

With LPGA cards on offer for the top 10 in the final rankings on the second-tier US Tour, the Cork star was thrilled but also fully aware she has a long season ahead.

“I feel really happy with that round and a great start,” she said. “I felt really good out there, and honestly, I could’ve hit the ball a little better, so I’m happy with that day.

“It is only the first round of approximately 60 rounds on the Epson Tour this year, so I'm just really happy with the start, but there is a long year still ahead!”

Carlson made eight birdies in a 65 to lead by a shot from Israel’s Laetitia Beck, with Byrne tied for third with Finland’s Matilda Castren, Chinese Taipei‘s Heather Lin and Americans Gina Kim and Anne Chen.

The former University of Miami and Curtis Cup star (23) also won her Ladies European Tour card last year.

But she plans to focus mainly on the Epson Tour and that quest for an LPGA card when her schedule allows.

This week’s Epson Tour event is the first of three in a row in Florida before the circuit takes a five-week break until late April.

That will give Byrne, who contended for victory before eventually finishing 24th in the LET’s season-opening Lalla Meyrem Cup in Morocco, a chance to play more events in Europe

The LET returns for a three-week run in Australia next week before heading to South Africa for two weeks.