Havret leads 1st round of the European Masters by a shot

The dust has barely settled from Zach Johnson’s triumph at The Open, but the European Tour returns in full swing with Sergio Garcia attempting to continue his excellent record at the European Masters.

Indian ace golfer Anirban Lahiri carded identical three-under 67s to share the 21st position with Rashid Khan after the first round of the European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club here.

Four-time US PGA Tour victor Patrick Reed will be making his first start in continental Europe, along with several Ryder Cup opponents as he goes in search of his first victory in a regular European Tour event.

Benson started badly with two bogeys in his opening four holes but finished strongly with a run of five birdies in the last seven.

Willett, who has risen to a career-high of 32 in the world rankings, after sharing sixth place in the Open Championship at St Andrews, was pleased with his opening.

Fitzpatrick – who tees off at 11.35am alongside Soren Hansen and Gregory Havret – was let down by his third round at the Scottish Open a fortnight ago but has shown good form over the last few months.

“I think it’s a fun golf course but not a long course due to the altitude”.

He said: “It sets it up quite nicely for me here”.

Jyoti Randhawa was two-under 138 after rounds of 68 and 70, while Jeev Milkha Singh put himself out of the weekend with 72-72 as did Digvijay Singh (76-71). “The greens are the best I’ve putted on this year and the most consistent”.

“I came away extremely disappointed from the North because I knew I had a great chance of winning if I could beat Gary”, he said. The Ayrshire course will have five new holes constructed this year.