Angel Franco and Jean Pierre Sallat share the lead after round one of the French Riviera Masters
Angel Franco fired a four-under par 68 in the first round to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the French Riviera Masters at the Terre Blanche Resort and Golf Club on Friday, September 21, 2012.
Franco opened his round with a birdie on the first hole. A drop shot on the very next hole took him back to an equal-par score.
He repeated the same steak on the sixth and the seventh hole and reached the turn with an equal-par score.
Afterwards, he managed to pick up some pace and added four birdies to his scorecard without conceding a single bogey.
Jean Pierre Sallat, who made it to the tournament by recording a victory in the French PGA Senior Open, also joined him later in the day by posting the same score.
At the end of the round, Franco seemed really pleased with his performance and stated that he hit the ball very well and registered a good score in the end.
“I had six birdies and two bogeys, which is always a good start. I hit the ball very well and overall I’m very pleased.” He said.
In the meantime, Sallat was also happy with the way he played in the opening round. According to him, he had complete control over his game, as he managed to hit most of the fairways and greens in regulation.
Moreover, he is playing in front of the home fans, which provided him some advantage over his competitors in the field.
“It was a perfect day when everything went right. My putting, driving and iron shots were all excellent and I didn’t make a mistake all day. It’s nice to be playing in my home country and this is a good start to an excellent week”.
In the meantime, a total of five players posted three-under par 69 and shared the second spot on the leaderboard.
Anders Forsbrand, the winner of last month’s SSE Scottish Senior Open, was listed among the players who tied for the third position.
He recorded a total of four birdies against a lone bogey, to remain in contention for the top spot, entering the last two rounds on the weekend.
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