Trevor Fisher Jnr nets first round advantage

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South Africa's Trevor Fisher Jnr overcame limited preparation to claim the first round lead at the Open de España with a seven under par 65 at Real Club de Golf El Prat.
After a long flight from Johannesburg on Monday, Fisher only managed nine holes of practice on Tuesday before walking the rest of the course during the pre-tournament pro-am.
However, that did not prevent the World Number 172 from carding eight birdies and just one bogey in an opening 65 which left him one shot ahead of local favourite Eduardo de la Riva, compatriot Darren Fichardt and England's Tommy Fleetwood.
De la Riva is attached to the tournament venue of Real Club de Golf El Prat and features, along with his father and grandfather, on the honours board for winners of the Barcelona Championship in the clubhouse.
Starting on the back nine, the Qualifying School graduate eagled the par five tenth and birdied the 11th and 12th, before picking up shots on the second and fourth in a flawless round.
Fleetwood had two eagles and three birdies in a round of 66 as he looks to remain inside the Official World Golf Ranking's top 60 after next week's BMW PGA Championship in order to qualify for next month's US Open.
Four-time European Tour winner Fichardt also eagled the 18th, as well as carding five birdies against a single bogey on the 12th.
England’s Qualifying School graduate Matt Ford and Chile’s Challenge Tour graduate share fifth on five under, but defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez - whose victory 12 months ago extended his record as the oldest winner in European Tour history - had to settle for a level par 72 and tournament favourite Sergio Garcia shot a three over 75.
Key Player Quotes
Trevor Fisher Jnr 65 (-7)
"I hit one or two loose shots but felt I kept the momentum going, which is key to any good round of golf.
"I sank one or two good putts for par and overall putted really well today, which helped.
"It's nice to be out here. I can play a full schedule now which is good. It's nice to play with some of the best players in the world. Hopefully we can put a few more good rounds together."
Eduardo De La Riva 66 (-6)
“It’s my best score in a tournament here,.
“I had a great start; I hit a good drive, a safe second shot and I knew the third was perfect since the moment I hit it. Holing from 100 metres for an eagle is a big boost, and then I kept it going. It has been a great day of golf.
“I know the course perfectly, the greens and the strategy, but it’s a strong course and you need to hit good shots and keep very calm.
“It’s great to play at home and to sleep in my own bed. I don’t feel any extra pressure; I just need to play my game and keep doing the same things. I enjoy playing in front of my family and all my friends and I will try to make them enjoy watching me.”
Tommy Fleetwood 66 (-6)
"I was gutted to miss out on the Masters but at the moment my golf is in a good place so I've just got to keep my head down and keep going.
"I did not play well in the pro-am on Wednesday then did some good work on the range and came out this morning and hit it really good. I did not miss many fairways and it was just a case of holing a few putts.
"The greens are tricky and we had to make the most of them this morning. Yesterday was firm, fast and tough and this morning was softer and the greens were a bit slower.
"Having the conditions like we did you had to go out and try to make a score."

FIRST-ROUND SCORESPar 72
 65 T Fisher Jnr (RSA)
 66 T Fleetwood  (Eng) , D Fichardt (RSA) , E De La Riva  (Esp) ,
 67 M Ford (Eng) , M Tullo (Chi) ,
 68 J Parry (Eng) , A Otaegui  (Esp) , E Espana (Fra) , S Hansen (Den)
 69 L Jensen (Den) , D Horsey (Eng) , G Bourdy (Fra) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , A Quiros  (Esp) , M Galiano Aguilar (am) (Esp)
70 J Carlsson (Swe) , J Lara (Esp) , R Rock (Eng) , T Pieters  (Bel) , A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) , J Morrison  (Eng) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , P Edberg (Swe) , E Grillo (Arg) , A Tadini (Ita) , R Wattel  (Fra) , P Maddy (Eng) , P Lawrie (Sco)   
71 M Korhonen (Fin) , P Larrazábal (Esp) , I Garrido (Esp) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , D Howell (Eng) , J Edfors (Swe) , N Colsaerts  (Bel) , M Hoey  (Nir) , M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) , D Brooks (Eng) , G Havret  (Fra) , J Palmer (Eng) , A Wall (Eng) , J Scrivener (Aus) , A Dodt (Aus) , B Hebert  (Fra)
 72 L Slattery (Eng) , E Molinari  (Ita) , A Johnston (Eng) , B An (AKor) , M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) , R Green (Aus) , L Bjerregaard  (Den) , A Hortal  (Esp) , F Molinari (Ita) , R Finch  (Eng) , M Nixon (Eng) , P Uihlein  (USA) , M Lundberg (Swe) , F Aguilar (Chi) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , M Jiménez (Esp) , C Del Moral (Esp) ,
R Karlberg  (Swe) , R Fisher (Eng) , D Lipsky (USA) , T Bjørn (Den) , M Fraser (Aus) , C Lloyd (Eng) , C Lee (Sco) , J Lando Casanova  (Fra) , R Santos  (Por) , J Van Zyl (RSA) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , B Virto Astudillo (Esp) , Y Yang (Kor) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , M Carlsson  (Swe) , M Kieffer (Ger) , A Velasco (Esp) , B Evans  (Eng) , M Manassero (Ita) ,
 74 P Lawrie (Irl) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , T Lewis (Eng) , R Ramsay  (Sco) , N Fasth (Swe) , C Aguilar  (Esp) , P Oriol (Esp) , T Murray (Eng) , J Singh (Ind) , S Benson (Eng) , R Bland (Eng) , J Quesne  (Fra) , R Paratore (Ita) , P Hanson (Swe) , N Elvira  (Esp) , J Campillo (Esp) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , F Fritsch  (Ger) , T Aiken (RSA) , A Hansen (Den) , S Dyson  (Eng) , I Cantero (am) (Esp) ,
 75 G Storm  (Eng) , J Lagergren (Swe) , O Farr (Wal) , S Webster (Eng), K Broberg (Swe) , D Woltman (USA) , E Pepperell (Eng) , A Noren  (Swe), C Paisley  (Eng), D Drysdale (Sco), S Garcia  (Esp) , J Roos (RSA) , J Panes (am) (Esp) ,
 76 R Dinwiddie  (Eng) , E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) , C Doak (Sco) , T Hatton (Eng) , F Zanotti (Par) , M Madsen  (Den), K Ferrie (Eng) , M Lampert (Ger) , H Otto (RSA) , C Bouniol (Fra) , D McGrane (Irl) , C Wood  (Eng) , M Foster (Eng) ,
 77 S Hend (Aus) , T Olesen (Den) , M Crespi  (Ita) , B Dredge (Wal) , X Puig (Esp) , C Pigem (Esp) , J Barnes (Eng) , W Ormsby (Aus) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , J Krietemeijer (am) (Ned) ,
 78 D Van Der Walt (RSA) , O Wilson (Eng) , J Colomo  (Esp) , B Etchart  (Esp) , R McEvoy  (Eng) , D Berna Manzanares (am) (Esp)
 79 A Pavan (Ita) , J Kruger (RSA) , P Angles (am) (Esp) ,
 80 J Garcia Del Moral (Esp) , O Fisher  (Eng) ,
 81 G Gancedo Onieva (Esp) , J Sandelin (Swe) ,
 83 J Jeong (SKor)
 84 T Levet (Fra)
 


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