European Masters: Schwab and Lorenzo-Vera Hold Early Lead

The duo of Matthias Schwab and Mike Lorenzo-Vera are the leaders of the Omega European Masters after both shooting 63 on opening day.

Schwab shot an error-free round at the European Masters, including a front-nine of 30, to sit at -7, while the Frenchman was a bit more adventurous, with his round including a double bogey and an eagle, as well as seven birdies.

The pair sit a shot clear from a group of three European players. Italian Lorenzo Gagli, Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg and Finland’s Mikko Korhonen all sit at -6.

The Finn only had seven pars in his up-and-down round, which also featured eagle 2s on two of the par-4s at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland.

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He also had six birdies on Thursday, along with two bogeys and a double in his round of 64. Gagli also had two eagles in his first round, while both he and Soderberg only dropped a single shot during the opening day.

Six men sit at -5, two shots off the lead. They include Tommy Fleetwood, Gavin Green and David Drysdale, who all had six birdies and a bogey in their rounds on Thursday.

The winner of last week’s Scandinavian Invitation, Erik van Rooyen, had two bogeys in his final five holes, while Guido Migliozzi had a run of four birdies in his round, while Jamie Donaldson lost some momentum with a double-bogey 6 at the 12th. The trio also sits two back.

There is a group of eleven men at -4, sitting three shots back from the lead. They include Nino Bertasio, who had a run of six birdies in the middle of his round. European Ryder Cup legend Sergio Garcia and England’s Lee Slattery both went bogey-free in their rounds of 66.

Wade Ormsby, Lucas Bjerregard and Bradley Dredge are also amongst that big group at -4, with some big names a further shot back. That group includes 55-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez, who showed that he still has it with this hole-out for an eagle at the 5th hole.

FedEx Cup Champion Rory McIlroy is also in that group at -3, alongside the English pair of Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. D+D Real Czech Masters winner Thomas Pieters is also in the group after a first-round 67.

Edoardo Molinari, Robert Karlsson, and Pablo Larrazabl are among those at -2, while reigning two-time champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, is at -1, six shots off the lead, alongside Alex Noren, Danny Willett and Andrew Johnston among several others.

76 men sit in the red numbers after the first day, with -1 the projected cut line as it stands. Just shy of the mark, and currently at level par after a round of 70 are 23 players.

They include the leading two Swiss players, in Raphaël de Sousa and Mathias Eggenberger, who sit alongside Eddie Pepperell and Andrea Pavan among others.

Padraig Harrington is one of those men that sit at +1, after an opening round of 71, but the three-time major winner provided this moment of magic.

Bernd Wiesberger and Soren Kjeldsen are also among those at +1, while two Swiss amateurs are a further shot back, as both Ronan Kleu and Nicola Gerhardsen shot 72 on the opening day of the European Masters.

Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Bjorn, Andy Sullivan, and Scott Hend are some of the big names that shot high scores on Thursday, and they will need a good round on the second day if they are to make the cut at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Friday’s action at the European Masters begins at 07:40 local time (UTC+2), with Lee Slattery and Gavin Green both going out in the first two groups, with the Malaysian starting from the 10th, while ‘Slatts’ will begin from No.1.

Leaderboard – Top 20:

• T1 (-7): Matthias Schwab (AUT), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
• T3 (-6): Mikko Korhonen (FIN), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Lorenzo Gagli (ITA)
• T6 (-5): Erik van Rooyen (RSA), David Drysdale (SCO), Jamie Donaldson (WAL), Gavin Green (MAS), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Guido Migliozzi (ITA)
• T12 (-4): Darren Fichardt (RSA), Bradley Dredge (WAL), Kalle Samooja (FIN), Jeunghun Wang (KOR), Nino Bertasio (ITA), Lee Slattery (ENG), Lucas Bjerregard (DEN), Sergio Garcia (ESP), Wade Ormsby (AUS), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Hideto Tanihara (JPN)

Selected Others:

• T23 (-3): Rory McIlroy (NIR), Lee Westwood (ENG), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP), Luke Donald (ENG)
• T39 (-2): Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Robert Karlsson (SWE), Pablo Larrazabal (ESP), Ross Fisher (ENG)
• T54 (-1): Matt Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett, Andrew Johnston (all ENG), Alex Noren (SWE), Adrian Otaegui (ESP)
• T77 (E): Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Raphaël de Sousa (SUI), Mathias Eggenberger (SUI), Andrea Pavan (ITA)
• T100 (+1): Padraig Harrington (IRL), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Joel Girrbach (SUI)
• T117 (+2): Ronan Kleu (A, SUI), Nicola Gerhardsen (A, SUI), Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
• T129 (+3): Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Benjamin Rusch (SUI)
• T140 (+4): Andy Sullivan (ENG)
• T143 (+5): Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Scott Hend (AUS)
• 154 (+8): Trevor Immelman (RSA)