European Tour report from Prague and all the scores

Czech mates Paratore, De La Riva share lead

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Italian teenager Renato Paratore and Spaniard Eduardo De La Riva share the lead following the opening round of the D+D Real Czech Masters after the playing partners carded matching seven under par rounds of 65 at Albatross Golf Resort, near Prague. Paratore moved past a group of players bunched at the top of the leaderboard on six under par with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, and he was then joined at the summit by De La Riva, who holed his approach shot on the par four last hole for an eagle two. After a solid start to the 2015 season, 18 year old Paratore, the third youngest player in European Tour history to graduate from Qualifying School, has missed the cut in his last two appearances, but his round of 65 is the lowest of his European Tour career to date. Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick is one of four players a shot behind the leading pair on six under par. The 20 year old, who finished runner up to fellow Sheffield native Danny Willett in the Omega European Masters last month, is joined by compatriot Sam Hutsby, Swede Pelle Edberg and Belgian Thomas Pieters. Key player quotes Renato Paratore – 65 (-7) “Today I played really solid from the tee to the green and on the back nine I putted really good. So I’m happy with a 65. It is my best round on the European Tour. My irons were good today and I gave myself a lot of chances. I made five birdies on the back nine and made a lot of putts. The first eight tournaments I played really well but then I dropped a bit the last three months. Then from Austria I changed my swing and I’m playing better.” Eduardo De La Riva – 65 (-7)           “It is very good to finish with a two on a par four, especially on this 18th hole which is very difficult. I didn’t have to take a putt on the 18th, so it is a very good finish. It is perfection. I played very well in Denmark for the first two rounds and then the weekend, on the greens I putted very badly. I feel good. Today I putted well and the long and short game were good too. It is a nice course and nice weather. The course is in good condition. “Renato and I are friends. He is a very good young player and it is nice to play with him.” Matthew Fitzpatrick – 66 (-6) “I played really nicely to start with and was fairly consistent. I didn’t really hole any putts though. I hit my approaches pretty close, which makes life easier, and I holed the short ones. I could have been more under par. It was almost a bit frustrating. I’m delighted to come in six under, but I missed a few chances on the last six holes. But you can’t complain at six under. “I’m not feeling completely on top of my game, but I feel I’m playing nicely. I’m consistent and I don’t feel my game will get away from me. I don’t think you can ever be too pleased with your game though.” Sam Hutsby – 66 (-6) “It has been a really tough year. I’ve missed so many cuts by one or two shots, which has been pretty costly. It will give me a confidence boost, a round like that. It has been a tough year though and I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself. It’s nice to post a bogey free card and I will try to continue it this week.” Pelle Edberg – 66 (-6) “It’s a very nice start. I read the greens pretty good today and holed some putts. I didn’t play very well but it is a great score and we are off to a good start. I didn’t play great at all in the beginning but I made some birdie putts and then on the back nine I made three straight birdies which kept me going. I’ve been hitting the ball well all year. I’ve not been able to make any putts, but the last few weeks I’ve sorted that out and the results have been better.” Thomas Pieters – 66 (-6) “I drove it really well, which I’ve been struggling with lately. I’ve not played much. Last week I got better during the week so I’m happy to carry that on here. I struck it well, hit it long which gave me a lot of wedges into the greens and gave myself some chances. I struggled with my hayfever (earlier this season). It’s really tough when you can’t see the ball when you are hitting it. Then I had some stuff at home. If your life at home is not in balance it is very hard to concentrate. So I took some time off and I’m feeling better now. It was a long break and I was anxious to get back, and I’m really excited now for the rest of the season.” Complete first round scores (par 72) 65 E De La Riva  (Esp) , R Paratore (Ita) , 66 T Pieters  (Bel) , M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) , P Edberg (Swe) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , 67 M Foster (Eng) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , M Hoey  (Nir) , K Broberg (Swe) , P Oriol (Esp) , T Olesen (Den) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , R Kakko  (Fin) , 68 D Im (USA) , B Ritthammer (Ger) , P Relecom  (Bel) , L Slattery (Eng) , C Lee (Sco) , 69 J Lagergren (Swe) , D McGrane (Irl) , E Pepperell (Eng) , F Praegant (Aut) , R Dinwiddie  (Eng) , C Paisley  (Eng) , J Barnes (Eng) , S Thornton (Irl) , F Mruzek (Cze) , C Doak (Sco) , J McLeary  (Sco) , D Brooks (Eng) , S Wakefield (Eng) , F Fritsch  (Ger) , D Dixon (Eng) , D Drysdale (Sco) , G Boyd  (Eng) , S Henry  (Sco) , 70 P Whiteford (Sco) , P Uihlein  (USA) , D Horsey (Eng) , R Karlberg  (Swe) , J Parry (Eng) , C Bouniol (Fra) , G Bourdy (Fra) , R Finch  (Eng) , J Sjöholm (Swe) , G Storm  (Eng) , D Fichardt (RSA) , K Phelan (Irl) , P Meesawat  (Tha) , C Del Moral (Esp) , 71 M Decottignies-Lafon (Fra) , A Saddier (Fra) , B Evans  (Eng) , P Hanson (Swe) , P Lawrie (Irl) , D Lipsky (USA) , A Tadini (Ita) , M Tullo (Chi) , S Griffiths (Eng) , S Hansen (Den) , M Ford (Eng) , J Lara (Esp) , J Makitalo  (Fin) , E Espana (Fra) , V Riu  (Fra) , J Walters (RSA) , A Pavan (Ita) , A Hansen (Den) , S Kapur (Ind), H Otto (RSA) , T Lewis (Eng) , J Knutzon (USA), M Madsen  (Den) , L Jensen (Den) , O Fisher  (Eng) , 72 M Schneider (Ger) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , S Chawrasia (Ind) , J Hahn (USA) , S Kim (USA) , T Murray (Eng) , G Porteous (Eng) , J Scrivener (Aus) , A Wall (Eng) , A Otaegui  (Esp) , O Henningsson  (Swe) , M Lundberg (Swe) , B Hebert  (Fra) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , C Shinkwin (Eng) , G Bhullar (Ind) , C Arendell (USA) , B Stow (Eng) , D Stewart (Sco) , N Holman  (Aus) , 73 M Jonzon (Swe) , D Suchan  (Cze) , R Fox (Nzl) , T Pilkadaris (Aus) , J Edfors (Swe) , R Bland (Eng) , S Fallon (Eng) , A Velasco (Esp) , S Dodd (Wal) , S Benson (Eng) , N Quintarelli (Ita) , R Evans  (Eng) , P Maddy (Eng) , J Lando Casanova  (Fra) , S Matus  (Cze) , P Peterson (USA) , R Coles (Eng) , N Colsaerts  (Bel) , M Lampert (Ger) , V Novak (am) (Cze) , 74 N Fasth (Swe) , C Lloyd (Eng) , O Farr (Wal) , M Novy  (Cze) , B Dredge (Wal) , A Hortal  (Esp) , D Gaunt (Aus) , C Pigem (Esp) , D Woltman (USA) , J Roos (RSA) , M Bremner (RSA) , M Nixon (Eng) , A Ahokas (Fin) , 75 P Archer (Eng) , V Phillips (Eng) , A Korinek (Cze) , C Suk (Cze) , M Korhonen (Fin) , A Rajmont  (Cze) , J Morrison  (Eng) , T Van Der Walt (RSA) , M Crespi  (Ita) , M Brezovsky (am) (Svk) , 76 J Colomo  (Esp), L Bjerregaard  (Den), J Singh (Ind) , P Gal  (Cze) , 77 J Huldahl (Den) , D Van Tonder  (RSA) , R McEvoy  (Eng) , L Tintera  (Cze) , J Janda (Cze) , 78 R McGowan  (Eng) , R Santos  (Por) , 79 A Gee  (Eng) , E Goya (Arg) , M Pospisil (am) (Cze) , 80 A Pavlov (Rus) , P Dedek (am) (Cze) , J Friesz (am) (Svk) ,