Aussie Herbert sets pace with a 63 at Portugal Masters

Round one report

Lucas Herbert equalled the lowest round of his European Tour career to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course.

England’s Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace had set the target at seven under par with bogey-free rounds of 64 during a low scoring morning, and for most of the afternoon it looked as though they would share the lead going into round two in Vilamoura.

But Australian Herbert went one better with another bogey-free round of 63 to get to eight under par, with 2012 Portugal Masters champion Shane Lowry also joining Pepperell and Wallace at one shot off the lead. In a good omen for Irishman Lowry, his caddie Bo Martin has won twice before on this course, alongside defending champion Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark and Frenchman Alex Levy in 2014.

Herbert's round of 63 matched his final-round total from the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open where he finished in a tie for third, one of four top tens this season that have helped him to 103rd on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex as he seeks a first full campaign on Tour in 2019.
China's Li Haotong is two shots off the lead at six under par, a shot clear of a group of ten players which includes 2017 Masters Tournament champion Sergio Garcia of Spain, Italian Renato Paratore and French pair Raphaël Jacquelin and Adrien Saddier
Player quotes
Lucas Herbert: “Coming off last week I was battling a bit with my form, so I've got my coach over here and my physio and we straightened things out. It was good to feel like we got the benefit of that today.
“For most of the start of the year my form was quite sporadic, I could shoot eight under but I could also shoot a couple over and throw a double and a triple in there. I've been a lot more consistent lately. I haven't made as many big numbers and at least limited the damage to bogeys. 
“There's a lot of pressure coming in to this time of the year. Most of the other guys will probably get more starts than me to finish off the year so there's probably a bit of pressure on me to play well. 
“I think I've had that pressure all year and I've dealt with it pretty well. Obviously today was a good indication that it's going alright so hopefully I can just continue that form.”
Shane Lowry: “I'm obviously very happy, 64 any day is very good. I've had four weeks off so it was nice to come back and shoot a good score. Looking forward to tomorrow now.
“My caddie has won twice around here. He's just started working with me this week, so it's our first day on the job. I suppose there's only one way to go from here, that's the only thing!
“I've won here - my first professional win, so very fond memories. I love coming back down here to play and I come down on holiday quite a lot. I love it on the Algarve.”
Matt Wallace: “I managed to get out of the first two with two pars and then chipped in on 12, which was nice to get the tournament going. Got a bit of work to do on the swing. Didn't feel too comfortable out there. A couple of left shots which I haven't had for the last few weeks, so I'm going to go and work on that. 
"The good thing about it is that it wasn't fantastic out there, it wasn't great, but I grinded out there. I knew certain shots what I had to do with my swing to hit that particular shot and I chipped and putted well. I chipped in twice today, so that was great.”
Eddie Pepperell: “I hit the ball in the water off the tee on 11 and ended up making a good par. From there on I played very solid. Dare I say it, it came pretty easily to me today.
“The higher rough will make a difference. It just needs a breeze, which they will get this afternoon. When there's no wind around here the fairways are easier to find. When you get crosswinds, on 18 for example with the wind from the left, it's very difficult to hit that fairway. And if you miss that fairway it's almost impossible to hit the green, so it definitely will be tougher. “Historically I've always felt like I've grown into the week quite nicely after a Thursday, but my Thursday form at the moment is unbelievable. It can only get worse from here!”
Li Haotong: “My front nine was really good - five under through the front nine was really solid. I had a lot of good tee shots and second shots and put the ball very close to the flag, so I think that is the reason why. 
“A victory could be this week, it could be next week, I don't know, but the game is getting there. It's getting close, I think a nice finish will be coming soon.”
Sergio Garcia: “I would have loved it to be a little better. I played well, I didn't play extraordinarily. I still feel like I left easily three or four shots out there, a couple of easy birdie putts here and there. I think that it was nice to play at a good level after a little break and have a nice round. 

“On this course, if you drive the ball well it's scoreable but if you don't then it's very tricky from the rough, so it was nice to do well here.”
Round one scores
par 7163 L Herbert (Australia)64 M Wallace (Eng), S Lowry (Ire), E Pepperell (Eng)65 H Li (China).66 A Saddier (Fra), K Koivu (Finland), G Petrozzi (Eng), R Jacquelin (Fra), R Paratore (Ita), M Korhonen (Finland), S Garcia (Spn), D Howell (Eng), A Chesters (Eng), J Scrivener (Australia).67 J Norris (Australia), B Dredge (Wales), G Fernandez - Castaño (Spn), N Cullen (Australia), C Hanson (Eng), A Cañizares (Spn), S Lee (SKor), N Bertasio (Ita), R Gouveia (Portugal), G Coetzee (SAf), J Campillo (Spn).68 M Kinhult (Swe), M Pavon (Fra), P Khongwatmai (Thailand), J Edfors (Swe), D Horsey (Eng), P Dunne (Ire), T Olesen (Den), N Colsaerts (Bel), J Geary (Nzl), L Bjerregaard (Den), S Locke (Sco), J Smith (Eng), S Heisele (Ger), H Porteous (RSA), A Connelly (Can), P Widegren (Swe), Z Lombard (SAf), C Ford (Eng), M Kieffer (Ger), T Santos Silva (Por), R Fisher (Eng), S Gallacher (Sco), P Oriol (Spn), R Bland (Eng), N Elvira (Spn), Y Miyazato (Jpn),69 C Schwartzel (SAf), A Sullivan (Eng), R Rock (Eng), C Shinkwin (Eng), J Ritchie (SAf), D Brooks (Eng), J Kruyswijk (SAf), M Baldwin (Eng), S Khan (Eng), D Willett (Eng), R Sterne (SAf), S Soderberg (Swe), D Lipsky (USA), J Van Zyl (SAf), O Farr (Wales), S Brazel (Australia), M Schwab (Austria), T Pulkkanen (Finland).70 R Green (Aus), M Siem (Ger), P Angles (Esp), R McGowan (Eng), M Manassero (Ita), C Bezuidenhout (SAf), J Morrison (Eng), J Choi (SKor), D Drysdale (Sco), T Aiken (SAf), H Tanihara (Jpn), H Stewart (USA), L Canter (Eng), S Kjeldsen (Denmark), F Aguilar (Chile), S Horsfield (Eng), S Jamieson (Sco), A Wu (China), P Waring (Eng), G Havret (Fra), A Levy (Fra), R Fox (NZ),71 F Jacobson (Swe), M Southgate (Eng), T Jaidee (Thailand), B Hebert (Fra), L Gagli (Ita), J Guerrier (Fra), A Rai (Eng), O Fisher (Eng), M Lundberg (Swe), J Dantorp (Swe), R Santos (Portugal), P Peterson (USA), A Johnston (Eng), S Webster (Eng), R Evans (Eng), M Jordan (Eng), D Im (USA)72 G Green (Mas), C Blomstrand (Swe), L Jensen (Den), T Lewis (Eng), H Sturehed (Swe), M Gaspar (Portugal), J Lagergren (Swe), T Detry (Belgium), C Wood (Eng), P Larrazábal (Spn), R McEvoy (Eng), R Ramsay (Sco)73 M Tullo (Chi), G Bourdy (Fra), M Nixon (Eng), B Neil (Sco), B Hafthorsson (Iceland, J Stalter (Fra), J Winther (Denmark), S Brown (Eng), J Thomson (Eng), R Cho (SKor), P Harrington (Ire), P Edberg (Swe), V Lopes (am) (Portugal).74 T Cruz (Portugal), S Fernandez (Spn), R Wattel (Fra), R Dawson (Ire), A Quiros (Spn), A Cabrera (Arg), J Ramos (Portugal), J Walters (SAf), J Carlota (Portugal), S Gros (Fra), H Ellis (Eng), C Sordet (Fra)75 P Hanson (Swe), J Munro (Australia), C Koepka (USA), M Warren (Sco)76 C Syme (Sco), J Donaldson (Wales)78 T Gouveia (Portugal), M Jonzon (Swe), A Girão (Portugal) (am).79 T Rodrigues (Portugal).