Fisher Off to Good Start in Open de España


South Africa's Trevor Fisher Jnr opened with a 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Open de España. The European Tour event got underway Thursday at Real Club de Golf El Prat near Barcelona.

The 35-year-old from Johannesburg, a nine-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, carded eight birdies and a bogey for a one-stroke edge over England's Tommy Fleetwood, local favorite Eduardo de la Riva and fellow South African Darren Fichardt.

"I hit one or two loose shots but felt I kept the momentum going, which is key to any good round of golf," said Fisher, who earned his first European Tour title in March at the Africa Open.

"I sank one or two good putts for par and overall putted really well today, which helped. It's nice to be out here. I can play a full schedule now which is good. It's nice to play with some of the best players in the world. Hopefully we can put a few more good rounds together."

Fleetwood had two eagles, three birdies and a bogey for his 66. The 24-year-old hopes for continued good play through next week's BMW PGA Championship in order to qualify for next month's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

"I was gutted to miss out on the Masters but at the moment my golf is in a good place so I've just got to keep my head down and keep going," said Fleetwood, who lost to compatriot Danny Willett in the quarterfinals of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play earlier this month and is currently ranked 54th.

"I did not play well in the pro-am on Wednesday then did some good work on the range and came out this morning and hit it really good," Fleetwood told the European Tour's website.

"I did not miss many fairways and it was just a case of holing a few putts. The greens are tricky and we had to make the most of them this morning. Yesterday was firm, fast and tough and this morning was softer and the greens were a bit slower. Having the conditions like we did you had to go out and try to make a score."

Trailing Fisher by two are England's Matt Ford and Chilean Mark Tullo. Yet another stroke down the leaderboard are John Parry, Eduoardo Espana, Soren Hansen and Adrian Otaegui.

Defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez, whose victory a year ago extended his record as the oldest winner in European Tour history, posted a 72.

The tournament's top-ranked player, No. 7 Sergio Garcia, opened with a 75. The 35-year-old Spaniard is coming off a playoff loss in last week's Players Championship in Florida.

For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015036/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y.