Lee James tees off with a 65 in

Challenge Tour event in France

From Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
Former British amateur champion Lee James got his quest for a fifth Challenge Tour title off to an encouraging start with a flawless round of five-under-par 65 on the opening day of the ALLIANZ Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne.
The 36-year-old from Dorset, who shares the same management company as Miguel Angel Jiménez, fired three birdies and an eagle to move to within one shot of clubhouse leader Victor Riu of France.
After a disastrous start to his 2009 Challenge Tour campaign – he was six over par after the first four holes of the Club Colombia Masters – James recently rallied with a top ten finish in the Tusker Kenya Open, followed by a tie for 28th place in Morocco two weeks ago.
Having lost his European Tour card after a poor season with the putter last year, he was naturally delighted after showing signs of a return to form on the greens.
James, who captured three of his four Challenge Tour titles en route to topping the Rankings in 2002, said: “It often comes down to how you fare on the greens, but that’s particularly true of me. I felt comfortable and confident with the putter in my hand today, and that made all the difference. Two years ago I couldn’t find the fairway off the tee for love nor money, and then last year I rectified that, only for my putting to go to pot. So if I can bring it all together this year, I might have a half-decent season!”
At the other end of the experience spectrum, Challenge Tour rookie Riu wowed the home crowds with a rousing round of 64 to grab the outright lead.
Riu earned his card through the Alps Tour, a satellite Tour played predominantly across his native France, but proved he belonged in this elevated company with six birdies and an eagle.
That moved the 24 year old Parisian to six under par, one shot clear of James, Sweden’s Steven Jeppesen and Germany’s Florian Fritsch – who picked up five shots in his closing four holes.
Denmark’s Anders Schmidt Hansen recovered from a horrendous start – he was three over after just two holes – to close on three under par, alongside Norway’s Jan-Are Larsen, Ireland’s Alan Murray and France’s Julien Quesne.
Riu earned his card through the Alps Tour, a satellite circuit played predominantly across his native France, but proved he belonged in this elevated company with six birdies and an eagle.
That moved the 24 year old Parisian to six under par, one shot clear of a quintet of players: England’s Lee James, Sweden’s Steven Jeppesen, Denmark’s Oliver Suhr, Australian Matthew Zions and Germany’s Florian Fritsch – who picked up five shots in his closing four holes.
Riu attributed his fast start to his maiden Challenge Tour season – he finished fifth on only his second appearance in the Tusker Kenya Open – to a stint practising in Brisbane, Australia, for three months over the winter.
He said: “It’s a bit warmer in Australia than it is in France! I worked with my coach more on my mental approach and my routine, which was good because I had focused too much on my technique until now. So it was good to get another point of view, and today I think the practice paid off, because I played very well. My long game was very good and I also putted very well, because whenever I had a birdie chance, I took it. Obviously it would be great if I could do well here and then finish in the top 20 at the end of the year, but it’s my first season so I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay is the leading Scot on 68, one shot ahead of Andrew McArthur from Windyhill.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 70
64 V Riu (Fra).
65 F Fritsch (Ger), M Zions (Aus), L James (Eng), S Jeppesen (Swe), O Suhr (Den).
66 J Guerrier (Fra), J Sjöholm (Swe), B Miarka (Ger), R Coles (Eng), V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) .
67 J Parry (Eng), J Larsen (Nor) , A Murray (Irl), A Hansen (Den), J Quesne (Fra).
68 N Colsaerts (Bel), C Brazillier (Fra), J Lima (Por), E Ramsay (Sco), T Haylock (Eng), A Gee (Eng), A Tampion (Aus), J Billot (Fra), A Kaleka (am) (Fra).
69 T Feyrsinger (Aut), S Robinson (Eng), R Kilpatrick (Nir), P Rowe (Eng), J Blaauw (RSA), G Plumet (Fra), D Küpper (Ger), L Kennedy (Eng), F Schoettel (Fra), A McArthur (Sco), P Golding (Eng), M Haastrup (Den), N Joakimides (Fra), J Gougeon (Fra) , M Korhonen (Fin) , B Hebert (Fra), G Hutcheon (Sco), M Laskey (Wal), D Ulrich (Sui), A Bernadet (Fra).
70 M Quiros (Esp), F Praegant (Aut), R Bechu (Fra), P Gustafsson (Swe), J Guillet (Fra) , P Del Grosso (Arg), G Davies (Eng), O Floren (Swe), M Tullo (Chi), T Whitehouse (Eng), F Calmels (Fra), L Brovold (Nor), N Maestroni (Ita), B Teilleria (Fra), D Nouailhac (Fra), M Cort (Eng), P Whiteford (Sco), B Evans (Eng), A Grenier (Fra), M Mills (Eng), B Lecuona (Fra) , R Steele (Eng), I Pyman (Eng), P Relecom (Bel), N Smith (US), A Marshall (Eng), J Ruth (Eng).
71 T Dykes (Wal), J Little (Eng), A Joudar (Mar), A Mellor (Eng), B Alvarado (Chi), J Grillon (Fra) , M Ford (Eng) , J Forestier (Fra), P Kaensche (Nor), C Suneson (Esp) , E Chaudouet (Fra) , A Bruschi (Ita) , B Mason (Eng).
72 K Jorgensen (Den), L Westerberg (Swe) , F Cupillard (Fra) , B Coathalem (Fra) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp), M Mauret (Fra) , J Sköld (Swe) ,
73 J Remesy (Fra) , C Aguilar (Esp) , A Zanini (Ita) , D Froreich (Ger) , V Simoni (Fra) , N Meitinger (Ger) , R Santos (Por) , A Taupin (Fra) , T Cruz (Por) , A Högberg (Swe) , R Steiner (Aut), C Moriarty (Irl), A Willey (Eng).
74 A Weizman (Fra) , A Wagner (Arg) , D Griffiths (Eng) , C Monasterio (Arg) , E Moreul (Fra) , C Menut (Fra) , A Mörk (Fra) , M Reale (Ita) , J Garcia Fernandez (Esp) , K Brink (Swe) , R Harris (Eng) , J Heath (Eng) , S Delagrange (Fra) ,
75 D Denison (Eng) , G Houston (Wal) , C Günther (Ger) , R Malingri Di Bagnolo (Fra) , M Kramer (Ger) , J Zapata (Arg), J Colomo (Esp) , C Russo (Fra) , O David (Fra) , A Butterfield (Eng) , C Dubois (Fra) , G Boyd (Eng) ,
76 T Ferreira (RSA) , J Xanthopoulos (Fra) , P Baker (Eng) , N Vanhootegem (Bel) , L Richard (Bel) ,
77 X Laduche (Fra) , A Mandonnet (Fra) , I Giner (Esp) , G Gresse (Bel) , K Sullivan (Wal) , F Vallet (Fra) , M Van Hauwe (Fra).
78 X Poncelet (Fra), D Perrier (Fra), J Van Hauwe (Fra), M Hill (Fra) , E Chamaulte (Fra) , C Smith (Wal).
79 S Reale (Ita).
80 S Juul (Den).
81 J Lenne (Fra), R Treis (Ger).
82 F Serghini (Mar).
83 M Pilkington (Wal).
84 S Bernard (Fra).
DQ T Briset (Fra).