EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT

Argentina's Gonzalez sets pace with a 65

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Refreshed by a five-week break with his family in Argentina, big-hitting Ricardo Gonzalez made a superb return to The European Tour in sun-drenched Seville today.
Back at the Real Club de Golf where he won the 2004 Open de Sevilla, the 40 year old fired a seven under par 65 to lead former English amateur champion Paul Waring by one after the first round of the Open de España.
"In Spain I feel like home. I like the people, the food, the golf courses," said Gonzalez, who also captured the Open de Madrid seven years ago.
"I've come with all the batteries charged and I think I have chances to do a good tournament."
The best of his eight birdies came at the 226 yard 17th, his eighth, where he struck "the best three iron I have hit in a long time" to within ten feet of the flag.
Waring has yet to record a top five finish since coming through the 2007 Qualifying School, but a month ago in Malaga he knocked four strokes off his best round on The European Tour with a 62.
Something similar was a possibility when the 25 year old from Birkenhead followed three opening birdies with an eight foot eagle putt on the long fifth.
But the former disc jockey - house music was his speciality in the clubs and bar of Liverpool - missed out on top spot by driving into sand and bogeying the 432 yard last.
Waring is happy just to be in Spain this week. The air chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud left him stuck in the Middle East and he was originally told the first flight out was May 1.
"We managed to get out on Sunday, though, and then flew here yesterday," he said.
The group in third place on four under includes England's Simon Dyson and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, both back in action three weeks after missing the cut at The Masters Tournament.
On the same mark are Dyson's fellow Yorkshireman Danny Willett, who as an amateur two years ago shot a 64 on the course, and Ireland's Damien McGrane, plus Gonzalez's compatriot Rafa Echenique, Spain's Sebi Garcia and Carlos Del Moral and Swedes Martin Erlandsson and Mikael Lundberg.
Garcia, from Majorca and with a British mother, earned fame at the end of last year with a 13 under par round of 58 in an event on the Spanish circuit, although placing of the ball was allowed.
Ranked 1,272nd in the world, he is one of eight home players given sponsor's invitations this week.
Leading Scot is Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay in joint 12th place on three-under-par 69.
SCOREBOARD
FIRST ROUND
Par 72, 7124 yards
65 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg)
66 Paul Waring
68 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Damien McGrane, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Danny Willett, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Carlos Del Morral (Spa), Simon Dyson, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Sebastian Garcia-Grout (Spa).
69 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Richie Ramsay, Joost Luiten (Ned), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Anthony Kang (USA), Stephen Dodd, Raul Quiros (Spa), Richard Finch, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Pedro Oriol (Spa), Mark Foster
70 Chris Gane, Chris Wood, David Drysdale, Jorge Campillo (Spa), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Ariel Canete (Arg), Pablo Martin (Spa), Johan Edfors (Swe)
71 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Anthony Wall, Marc Warren, Shane Lowry, Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Gregory Havret (Fra), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Manuel Quiros (Spa), Richard Bland, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Colin Montgomerie, Phillip Price, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Scott Drummond, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Gabriel Canizares (Spa), Sam Hutsby, Carl Suneson (Spa), Richard Green (Aus), Jamie Donaldson
72 Gary Orr, Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Andrew Butterfield, James Kingston (Rsa), Sion E Bebb, Steven O'Hara, Peter Lawrie, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Gary Boyd, Alexander Noren (Swe), Christian Nilsson (Swe), David Horsey, George Coetzee (Rsa), Simon Khan, Phillip Archer, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Barry Lane
73 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), John Parry, Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Jamie Elson, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Santiago Luna (Spa), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe), Steve Webster, Peter Whiteford, Nick Dougherty, James Morrison, Mark F Haastrup (Den), Stephan Gross junior (Ger), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), James Ruth, Tano Goya (Arg), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
74 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Luis Claverie (Spa), Oliver Fisher, Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Robert Rock, Jordi Garcia (Spa), Pedro Linhart (Spa), David Howell, Javier Colomo (Spa), Paul Broadhurst, Robert Coles, Marco Ruiz (Par), Paul Lawrie, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Thomas Levet (Fra)
75 Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Richard McEvoy, David Lynn, Darren Clarke, Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Gary Lockerbie, Alastair Forsyth, Matt Haines, Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita)
76 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Anton Haig (Rsa), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Andrew Coltart, Peter Baker, Julien Guerrier (Fra), Moises Cobo Arrayas (Spa), Victor Dubuisson (Fra) (amateur), Stephen Gallacher, James Kamte (Rsa), Nacho Bermudo (Spa), Michael Hoey
77 Shiv Kapur (Ind), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (Spa), Mark Brown (Nzl), Kenneth Ferrie, Simon Thornton
78 Juan Francisco Sarasti (Spa), David Dixon, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Marcel Siem (Ger), Sam Little, Graeme Storm
79 Gary Murphy, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Carlos Pigem (Spa), Julien Quesne (Fra), Bradley Dredge
80 Andrew McArthur
84 Antonio Hortal (Spa)