Crans Montana, Switzerland (SportsNetwork.com) - Richie Ramsay and Edoardo Molinari both fired 8-under 62s on Thursday and they share the lead after the opening round of the European Masters.
Ramsay won this title in 2012 and Molinari was the runner-up in 2010, so they both have strong records on the Alpine Course at Crans-sur-Sierre.
Tommy Fleetwood posted a 6-under 64 in round one. He was joined in third place by Graeme Storm and Gareth Maybin.
Victor Dubuisson, the highest-ranked player in the field at world No. 21, opened with a 5-under 65. He shares sixth place with Jamie Donaldson, Raphael Jacquelin, David Lynn, Michael Hoey, Seve Benson and Brooks Koepka.
Defending champion Thomas Bjorn headlines a group of 15 players tied for 13th at minus-4.
"It was ideal this morning, although it was a bit cold early on. Usually that would mean the ball doesn't go as far, but with the altitude that canceled one another out," Bjorn explained. "There was hardly any wind out there today, so the course was definitely there for the taking."
Ramsay got off to a flying start as he eagled the par-5 first. He followed with birdies at two and three to quickly jump to 4-under par after three holes.
"Four-under through three holes was a nice way to start. I hit a great 6-iron into the first and then two more good iron shots into the next two, so I was flying at that point," Ramsay said. "It gave me a great boost and I managed to pick off a few more birdies after that."
After three pars in a row, Ramsay birdied the seventh. He made the turn at 5- under after pars on eight and nine. He also parred the first two holes of the back nine.
The Scotsman converted back-to-back birdie chances at 12 and 13. Ramsay later birdied the 15th to move to 8-under. He parred the final three holes to close out his bogey-free round.
Molinari was also bogey-free in round one. He opened with birdies on three of the first four holes. Molinari dropped in back-to-back birdie efforts at seven and eight.
The Italian ran off three straight pars from the ninth. Molinari moved to minus-6 with a birdie on the par-4 12th. He later birdie the 15th and 17th to gain a share of the lead. Molinari parred the last to end alongside Ramsay.
"I hit the ball very well from the tee, which wasn't the case last week. 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," Molinari stated.
NOTES: Ramsay has a piece of the first-round lead for the second time in his career, while Molinari has had the first-round lead three times previously ... Neither player went on to win any of those events ... Donaldson, who won the Czech Masters two weeks ago, finished third at this event in 2011 ... Last week's winner, Hennie Otto, opened with a 2-under 68, which left him tied for 36th.
