Moriarty making early running at Saint Omer
Forget world cup fever - golf obsessives on both sides of the pond are positively salivating at the prospect of seeing Europe's finest players take on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the outstanding Pebble Beach course later today.
But while the US Open looks set to offer a truly enthralling spectacle this weekend, the European Tour hosts its own slightly more modest tournament. The Saint Omer Open began today in Lumbres, France - so how's the contest shaping up thus far?
Colm Moriarty is the early clubhouse leader, the Irishman coming home five-under par 66, with six birdies and a solitary blemish near the last, when he bogeyed the three-par 17th.
That's a fairly fragile lead however, with Moriarty currently leading only by one stroke over Chile's Mark Tullo and France's Michael Lorenzo-Vera, both tied for second place on four-under. Sweden's Joakim Backstrom was in fourth place on three-under.
The field is less than stellar for obvious reasons, but a trio of Englishmen are still in the running at this early stage, with Ben Evans, Matt Haines and Lloyd Kennedy amongst a number of players tied for 11th place on one-under. Haines carded an eagle on the 9th, but a double bogey on the 16th counteracted that earlier fine piece of play.
Of the 156 players taking part, 18 of those in action have already produced wins on the European Tour, though admittedly names like Anton Haig (the South African who won the Johnnie Walker Classic in 2007) and Mads Vibe-Hastrup (the Dane who took the Madrid Open in the same year) don't quite have the recognition factor of Lee Westwood or Rory McIlroy.
Nonetheless, we'll try to keep one eye on proceedings in France as we wait for the action at Pebble to begin this afternoon.
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