MONTY TIED FOR FIFTH AT END OF DAY 1 IN MOSCOW

FARRY LEADS BY TWO IN RUSSIAN 


SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

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Marc Farry carded a flawless seven-under-par 65 to storm into a two-shot lead at seven under par after the first round of the Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) at Moscow Country Club.
The 55 year old Frenchman hit 17 greens in regulation round the testing Robert Trent Jones Jnr lay-out to go into the second round two shots ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Martin/
England’s Phil Golding and Steen Tinning of Denmark are a further shot adrift at four under.
Colin Montgomerie began his quest for a fourth European Senior Tour title of the season with a three under par 69 that left him in a tie for fifth place alongside Paraguay’s Angel Franco
Leading the way, Farry opened his round with a birdie from six feet on the 327yd par four first before gaining another shot at the short eighth thanks to a pin point six iron, following a string of pars.
The man from Lamorlaye made five further gains in his opening round, four of which came from within eight feet on the 10th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes, before he finished with a flourish, thanks to a 20-footer at the last for a seventh birdie of the day.
“I have been working hard on my wedge shots from 80 yards and in and it paid off today,” he said. “I hit a lot of approaches close and I might even have scored lower because I missed from six feet on the seventh and from around ten feet on the 12th.
Montgomerie arrived in Moscow as the clear favourite after winning his third title of the season at last weekend’s Travis Perkins Masters at Woburn, and he could still be the man to beat after an opening 69, which would have been better but for a closing bogey after finding sand from the tee.
“It was a disappointing way to finish,” admitted the victorious 2010 Ryder Cup Captain. “I’d describe it as one of those days when not much happened. I hit a lot of good shots but I couldn’t get the putts to drop. But I’m still in a pretty good position despite that dropped shot at the end.”
The best shot of the first round came from recent SSE Scottish Senior Open champion Mark Davis who had a hole in one with a five iron on the 193 yard par four eight hole. He also birdied the ninth to go out in 32 but four dropped shots on the back nine saw him finish in a share of 20th place after he signed for a level par 72. 
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
65 M Farry (Fra)
67 M Martin (Esp)
68 P Golding (Eng) , S Tinning (Den) 
69 A Franco (Par) , C Montgomerie  (Sco)
70 T Thelen (USA) , A Sherborne (Eng) , C Williams (RSA) , J Remesy (Fra)
71 P Wesselingh (Eng) , G Brand Jnr (Sco) , S Luna (Esp) , B Cameron (Eng) , G Manson (Aut) , D O'Sullivan (Irl) , B Ruangkit (Tha) , G Rusnak (USA) , W Grant (Eng)
72 M Cunning (USA) , C Mason (Eng) , A Oldcorn (Sco) , P Eales (Eng) , B Conser (USA) , M Davis (Eng) , C Monasterio (Arg)
73 J Bruner (USA) , S Van Vuuren (RSA) , T Price (Aus) , R Drummond (Sco) , R Gibson (Can) , L Carbonetti (Arg) , J Berendt (Arg) , R Rafferty (Nir) , M McLean (Eng) , A Bossert (Sui) , J Quiros (Esp) , B Lane (Eng) , N Ratcliffe (Aus)
74 G Wolstenholme (Eng) , H Carbonetti (Arg) , B Marchbank (Sco) , N Job (Eng) , S Cipa (Eng) , G Ryall (Eng) , E Romero (Arg) , G Brand (Eng) , B Longmuir (Sco) , M Harwood (Aus) , P Linhart (Esp) , R Thompson (USA) , B Lincoln (RSA) ,
75 A Murray (Eng) , P Fowler (Aus) , P Walton (Irl)
76 J Smith (USA) , S Brown (Eng) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , H Buhrmann (RSA) , S McAllister (Sco) , J Gould (Eng) , J Carriles (Esp)
77 J King (Eng) , D Hospital (Esp)
78 G Emerson (Eng) , P Jonas (Can)
79 M Mackenzie (Eng) , M Bianco (Ita)
80 G Joyner (Aus) , M Belsham (Eng)
81 A Garrido (Esp)
82 J Sallat (Fra)


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