Molinari shares lead in Alps

Crans-Sur-Sierre - Scot Richie Ramsey and Italy's Edoardo Molinari shared the first round lead at the European Masters on eight under par at Crans Montana on Thursday.

Ramsey set off at a blistering pace at the picturesque Swiss course, eagling the opening hole and birdying the next two.

He posted three further birdies to take the clubhouse lead, where he was later joined by Molinari, who enjoyed a similarly flawless round.

Ramsay said: "Four under through three holes was a nice way to start.

"I hit a great six iron into the first and then two more good iron shots into the next two, so I was flying at that point. It gave me a great boost and I managed to pick off a few more birdies after that."

Molinari, who has missed this tournament for the last two years through injury, said: "I hit the ball very well from the tee, which wasn't the case last week (in Italy).

"And I've been hitting my irons very well lately, so I know that when I find the fairways, I'm probably going to give myself a good chance to get close to the pin."

Ramsay and Molinari were two shots ahead of Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Graeme Storm plus Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin, who all made 64s.

Wales' Jamie Donaldson, seeking consecutive European Tour triumphs, went round in 65 to be in a group of seven on five under. Defending champion Thomas Bjrn of Denmark was among a large group one shot further back.

62 - Richie Ramsay, Edoardo Molinari (ITA)

64 - Gareth Maybin, Tommy Fleetwood, Graeme Storm

65 - Brooks Koepka (USA), Victor Dubuisson (FRA), Jamie Donaldson, David Lynn, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA), Michael Hoey, Seve Benson

66 - Craig Lee, Robert Jan Derksen (NED), Matthew Nixon, James Morrison, Felipe Aguilar (CHI), Peter Hanson (SWE), Emiliano Grillo (ARG), David Drysdale, Jamie McLeary, Prom Meesawat (THA), Thomas Bjorn (DEN), Shane Lowry, Chapchai Nirat

(THA), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Padraig Harrington

67 Mikael Lundberg (SWE), Anders Hansen (DEN), Ricardo Santos (POR), Danny Willett, Tyrrell Hatton, Andy Sullivan, David Lipsky (USA), Wade Ormsby (AUS)

68 - Jorge Campillo (ESP), Matteo Manassero (ITA), Damian Ulrich (SUI), Adrian Otaegui (ESP), Masahiro Kawamura (JPN), Gregory Havret (FRA), Fillippo Campigli (ITA), Hennie Otto (RSA), Peter Whiteford, Daniel Brooks, Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Matthew Baldwin, Rikard Karlberg (SWE), Martin Rominger (SUI), Lee Slattery, Romain Wattel (FRA), Marcus Both (AUS), Andrea Pavan (ITA)

Selected

69 - Seuk-hyun Baek (KOR), Thomas Aiken (RSA), Kieran Pratt (AUS), Brett Rumford (AUS), Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP), Bradley Dredge, Anirban Lahiri (IND), Jason Knutzon (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP), Paul Lawrie, Justin Walters (RSA), Gi-Whan Kim (KOR), Jin Jeong (KOR), Richard Green (AUS), Digvijay Singh (IND), Thomas Levet (Fra)

72 - Rahil Gangjee (IND), Sihwan Kim (KOR), Jeev Milkha Singh (IND), Peter Uihlein (USA), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Rashid Khan (IND), Jyoti Randhawa (IND)

73 - Berry Henson (USA), Darren Fichardt (RSA), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND), Angelo Que (PHI)

74 - Shiv Kapur (IND), Arnod Vongvanij (THA), George Coetzee (RSA), Darren Clarke, Mardan Mamat (SIN)

75 - Siddikur Rahman (BAN), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (IND)

76 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA)

78 - Richard T Lee (CAN), Jean-Francois Lucquin (FRA)