George Murray, sore back

and all, goes seven

under with 65 in France

From Steve Todd, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
Fifer George Murray defied a long-term back injury to shoot a superb seven under par 65 in the first round of the AGF-Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse on the European Challenge Tour today.
The 25-year-old former Scottish amateur champion from Anstruther has spent most of the past fortnight in bed after withdrawing from the Kazakhstan Open when his injury flared up on the practice range but he showed few signs of the problem as he tamed the Golf de Toulouse in Seilh, France.
Murray, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, had a spectacular ending to his round, holing his seven-iron approach shot from 115yds for an eagle on his final hole of the day, to accompany six birdies and a bogey.
He said the round was one of the best of his fledgling professional career, leaving him one shot behind leader Robert Coles of England who carded a fine eight under par 64.
“It was great to see the shot go in on the last hole,” said Murray. “It pitched on the green and because of the conditions over here it spun back about 10 feet and went in. It was a good note to finish on.
“I was really happy with the way I played today. I’ve been struggling with my back since last Christmas and I’ve been on painkillers ever since. After I pulled out in Kazakhstan two weeks ago I’ve probably only hit 50 balls since. Even yesterday I was in bed with it but I just went out and played today, although I was holding back a bit.”
Murray’s fine start presents him with an opportunity to build on his two top ten finishes so far this season – ninth at the Lexus Open in Norway and tied runner up at the Vodafone Challenge in Germany.
“I’ve had a poor season to be honest – partly due to the injury – so I need a couple of good finishes to get myself into the top 45 in the Rankings,” said Murray, who is currently 62nd.
“I’ve only ever shot seven under par a couple of times as a professional or amateur and I just can’t seem to get to eight under. It’s like a mental block but it is a great start for me.”
Steven O’Hara from Motherwell is also in a share of second place after a 65 while Aberdonian Richie Ramsay began well, posting a five under par round of 67 as he tries to break into the Challenge Tour Top 10 and secure a place on The European Tour next year.

A second former Scottish amateur champion in the field, Andrew McArthur, from Windyhill also broke 70 with a 69.

ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES

Par 72

64 Robert Coles (Eng)
65 George Murray (Sco), Steven O'Hara (Sco), Dominique Nouailhac (Fra)
66 Raphael De Sousa (Swi), Marco Ruiz (Par), John E Morgan (Eng)
67 Matthew Morris (Eng), Richie Ramsay (Sco), Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut), Taco Remkes (Ned)
68 Oliver Whiteley (Eng), Gary Clark (Eng), Christophe Brazillier (Fra),
Roland Steiner (Aut), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Inder Van Weerelt (Ned), Julien Grillon (Fra), Toni Karjalainen (Fin), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Simon Robinson (Eng), Rudy Thuillier (Fra)
69 James Morrison (Eng), Marcus Higley (Eng), Roope Kakko (Fin), Richard
McEvoy (Eng), Fredrik Widmark (Swe), Francois Calmels (Fra), Tim Dykes (Wal), Bruno-Teva Lecuona (Fra), Michael Hill (Fra), Liam Bond (Wal), Andrew McArthur (Sco), Damien Perrier (Fra), Marco Soffietti (Ita)
70 Matthew King (Eng), Julien Quesne (Fra), Matthew Cort (Eng), Michael
McGeady (Irl), Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Benjamin Miarka (Ger), Ivo Giner (Spa), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Miguel Rodriguez (Arg), Andreas Hogberg (Swe), Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den), Benoit Bozio (Fra), Colm Moriarty (Irl), Kyron Sullivan (Wal), Bjorn Pettersson (Swe), Ian Garbutt (Eng), Edouard Dubois (Fra)
71 Gareth Davies (Eng), Michael Hoey (NIrl), Alessandro Tadini (Ita),
Christian Nilsson (Swe), David Horsey (Eng), Gary Emerson (Eng), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Graeme A Clark (Eng), Tim Milford (Eng), Tiago Cruz (Por), Gary Boyd (Eng), Sebastien Delagrange (Fra)
72 Sarel Son-Houi (Fra), Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Adrien Bernadet (Fra), Philip Rowe (Eng), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita), Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Ben Mason (Eng), Ben Evans (Eng), Nicolas Taille (Fra), Chris Gane (Eng), Jesus Legarrea (Spa), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Jamie Little (Eng), Charles-Edouard Russo (Fra), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)
73 Lawrence Dodd (Eng), Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra), Tony Raillard (Fra),
Ricardo Santos (Por), Michele Reale (Ita), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Andre Bossert (Swi), Julien Foret (Fra), Mark Tullo (Chi)
74 Andrew Butterfield (Eng), Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel), Alessio Bruschi (Ita), Cedric Menut (Fra), Santiago Luna (Spa), Gary Lockerbie (Eng), Gregory Molteni (Ita), Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra)
75 Olivier David (Fra), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Richard Treis (Ger), Pierre
Relecom (Bel), Mickael Dieu (Fra), Jean Pierre Cixous (Fra), Adam Gee (Eng), Peter Kaensche (Nor)
76 Emilien Chamaulte (Fra), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Florian Praegant (Aut)
77 Faycal Serghini (Mar), Stuart Davis (Eng), Alexandre Mandonnet (Fra), Lukas Lizanec (Cze), Jean Marc De Polo (Fra), Branden Grace (Rsa)
78 Georges Plumet (Fra), John Mellor (Eng), Raymond Russell (Sco)
80 Bertrand Coathalem (Fra), Richard Bland (Eng), Marcin Stelmasiak (Pol)
81 Loic Salgado (Fra)Leading Round One Scores