Alex Fitzpatrick and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia produced flawless rounds of 63 to share the first-round lead at the Omega European Masters, while Gary Hurley is off to a good start thanks to a two-under 68.
The Waterford man got off to a far from ideal start with two bogeys in his opening three holes, but three birdies in a row from 13 through 15 – his fourth to sixth holes – got him back the right side of par and though he’d drop another on the fourth, he’d birdie two of the final three to post -2 and end the day tied for 38th.
Both Fitzpatrick and Garcia-Heredia were among the late starters who benefited from the calmer conditions in the Swiss Alps, with Fitzpatrick rolling in seven birdies during his bogey-free card on Thursday.
He is the younger brother of former U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who has lifted the trophy here at Crans Montana on two occasions in 2017 and 2018.
Fitzpatrick, who is still awaiting his first DP World Tour victory, is heading in the right direction as he led a logjam at the top of the leaderboard at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
However, he was not on his own as Garcia-Heredia timed his charge to the summit to perfection as he rolled in an eagle and five birdies to reach seven under to sit alongside the Englishman.
The pair are one clear of a chasing pack which includes Matt Wallace, Swede Henrik Norlander, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and Dutchman Daan Huizing.
Wallace, who endured difficult wet conditions in the morning, went out in 32 and came home with the same score in his bogey-free 64 to set the clubhouse target before being usurped by Fitzpatrick and Garcia-Heredia.
Norlander mixed an eagle, five birdies and a dropped shot to climb to six under, Scrivener picked up seven shots and a bogey, while a bogey at the eighth – his penultimate hole – saw Huizing slip back from the leading group.
German duo Jannik De Bruyn and Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, South African Brandon Stone, Welshman Stuart Manley, local amateur Nicola Gerhardsen and 2012 Champion Richie Ramsay sit two off the pace at five under.
“I played really nicely,” said Fitzpatrick. “The first five or six holes were fairly brutal, I think it was gusting at 25-30mph or whatever it was. I got the nice side of the draw to be honest, this morning was brutal and luckily the last eight or nine holes there was not much wind so it was nice to capitalise on the opportunities I had and hopefully the same tomorrow.
“We made a change of club from a seven wood to three iron before the round just because of the conditions and I didn’t like drawing the three iron so last hole didn’t suit my eye but happy to hole a really nice putt and move on to tomorrow. After playing well last year, I feel like I know the course fairly well.
“I took a really nice two and half week break not too long ago and I felt that really refreshed me for the rest of the year. The past couple of weeks have been nice, just got off to really slow starts so it’s nice to get one up early.”
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