Manassero sets European

Masters pace with a 64

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Matteo Manassero, the 17 year old former British Amateur champion, starred on the opening day of the Omega European Masters to take a one-shot lead.
The Italian teenager, who admitted to drawing inspiration from compatriot Edoardo Molinari's Gleneagles victory and Ryder Cup call-up, matched the lowest round of his short professional career by grabbing seven birdies for a seven under par 64.
After finishing 13th in The 2009 Open Championship and 36th at The Masters Tournament in April - leads England's Graeme Storm and Finn Mikko Ilonen by one.
Manassero is trying to become the youngest winner in European Tour history, but would happily settle for earning enough to avoid Qualifying School in November.
A top five finish could do that after receiving the sixth of the seven invitations he is allowed this season.
"It was a perfect round of golf and a great start to a tournament that is very important to me," said the Verona player, whose other start will be the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland next month.
Asked about Molinari and his brother Francesco both making Europe's side for the coming match at The Celtic Manor Resort Manassero added: "It's a big inspiration for me and all the guys growing up in Italy.
"It's unbelievable what they are doing. I watched Edoardo's win on Sunday - it was beautiful."
Storm and Ilonen are also former British Amateur champions and they have already gone on to European Tour success.
Winner of the Alstom Open de France three years ago, Storm came back from an opening bogey with seven birdies, while Ilonen, with victories in Indonesia and Sweden to his name, sank a bunker shot on his final hole to join him in second place.

"It was an entertaining round," said the Finn. "I didn't strike the ball the best but I managed to put a good score on the card.

"I had a couple of chip-ins coming in. On the last I holed out from the bunker for a four and it was a great way to finish with a 65.

"I had a chip-in on the fifth as well. It was a tricky pin there and I went over the green with the second shot and chipped in. I didn't have too many putts today."

Storm added: "I've been playing really nice for a while and it's been frustrating so it was nice to get a good round under my belt. The game is consistent but to be perfectly honest I haven't holed many putts for a while. That is my best putting round all year.

"I love the venue and the course is growing on me. If the ball trickles off the green and you make a bogey you have to smile and get on with it. There is no better place than Crans when the weather is like this."

Molinari, who is taking three weeks off after this event to rest and then prepare for his Ryder Cup debut, did not drop a stroke, but was lucky at the long 15th when his pulled third shot was pulled into the trees, but came out just short of the green.

He was playing with twice Open Champion Greg Norman, the 55 year old Australian managing a four over 75 on his long-awaited return 12 months after shoulder surgery.

Miguel Angel Jiménez, the other member of Europe's side in the field, had a 67, the same as Ryder Cup vice-captain Darren Clarke.

When Norman – golf’s legendary Great White Shark – stepped up to the first tee, he did so as the newest member of Omega’s family of brand ambassadors.

Omega and Norman made the announcement as the event got underway at the scenic Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Norman joins a roster of Omega ambassadors which includes fellow golfers Sergio Garcia and Michelle Wie, Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps, actors George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, supermodel Cindy Crawford and astronaut Buzz Aldrin among others.

Swede Mikael Lundberg had the lowest outward half of the day - 30 - and a hole in one at the third earned him a bar of gold valued at €23,000, but he then came home in 39.
Clarke, one of Colin Montgomerie's Vice Captains at The Celtic Manor Resort from October 1-3, finished with a 30 foot birdie putt, while Jiménez, looking forward to his fourth cap against the Americans, had six birdies and two bogeys as he began his 22nd successive attempt to win the title at Crans-sur-Sierre.

“A 67 is good – anything under par is good here,” said Jiménez. “My secret is drinking good wine and sleeping well!

“I still love the game and enjoy it. Now it is more relaxing after the pressure of trying to make The Ryder Cup team. Thank goodness that is finished and I have much more freedom. I love to come here in the Alps; it’s very relaxing. I will take next week off and then play Austria before The Ryder Cup.”


FIRST ROUND
Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland
Par 71
64 Matteo Manassero (Ita)
65 Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Graeme Storm
66 David Drysdale, Steve Webster, Rick Kulacz (Aus), Robert Coles, Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Edoardo Molinari (Ita)
67 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Soren Hansen (Den), Paul Waring, Darren Clarke, Anthony Wall, David Dixon, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Alejandro Canizares (Spa)
68 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Anders Hansen (Den), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Oliver Wilson, Scott Strange (Aus), Phillip Price, Gary Lockerbie, Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Jamie Donaldson, Alastair Forsyth, Keith Horne (Rsa), Julien Clement (Swi), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), James Kamte (Rsa), Ross McGowan
69 Ben Leong (Mal), Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Todd Hamilton (USA), Steven O'Hara, Simon Dyson, Peter Hedblom (Swe), Marc Warren, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Chris Wood, Peter Whiteford, Gareth Maybin, Nick Dougherty, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Thomas Levet (Fra)
70 Thomas Aiken (Rsa), John Parry, Danny Willett, A Siddikur (Ban), Jamie Elson, Pablo Martin (Spa), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Brett Rumford (Aus), Angelo Que (Phi), Ariel Canete (Arg), Fredrik Svanberg (Swi), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Nino Bertasio (Ita)
71 Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Scott Hend (Aus), Markus Brier (Aut), Ted Oh (Kor), Adam Blyth (Aus), Michael Hoey, Hennie Otto (Rsa), Richie Ramsay, Christian Nilsson (Swe), David Howell, David Horsey, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Andrew Dodt (Aus), Rikard Karlberg (Swe), Jin Jeong (Kor), Paul Broadhurst, C Muniyappa (Ind), Phillip Archer, Peter O'Malley (Aus)
72 Richard Bland, Michael Campbell (Nzl), James Kingston (Rsa), David Lynn, Peter Lawrie, Mardan Mamat (Sin), Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha), Anthony Kang (USA), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Tano Goya (Arg), Paul McGinley, Eduardo Romero (Arg), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
73 Francis Valera (Spa), Jann Schmid (Swi), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Johan Edfors (Swe), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Stephen Dodd, Alexander Noren (Swe), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Sam Little, Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Gregory Havret (Fra), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Richard McEvoy, Marcel Siem (Ger), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Simon Khan, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Danny Chia (Mal)
74 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Andrew Butterfield, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Joost Luiten (Ned), Sung Lee (Pkr), Danny Lee (Nzl), Shane Lowry, Nicolas D'incau (Swi), Shiv Kapur (Ind), David Gleeson (Aus), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Julien Quesne (Fra), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), George Coetzee (Rsa), James Morrison, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Ken Benz (Swi), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Paul Lawrie, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Mark Foster
75 Andre Bossert (Swi), Marcus Both (Aus), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Greg Norman (Aus), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa)
76 Darren Beck (Aus), Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn), Rhys Davies, Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Bradley Dredge
79 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Sven Struver (Ger)
80 Victor Doka (Swi)
83 Edouard Amacher (Swi)