South Africa’s Brandon Stone was just two strokes behind the co-leaders after the first round of the Omega European Masters on Thursday.
The Compleat Golfer playing editor’s bogey-free round of 65 included five birdies.
Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia both produced flawless rounds of 63 to share the lead.
Both were among the late starters who benefited from the calmer conditions in the Swiss Alps, with Fitzpatrick rolling in seven birdies during his bogey-free card.
He is the younger brother of former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who has lifted the trophy here at Crans Montana on two occasions in 2017 and 2018.
Fitzpatrick, who is still awaiting his first DP World Tour victory, is heading in the right direction as he led a logjam at the top of the leaderboard at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
However, he was not on his own as Garcia-Heredia timed his charge to the summit to perfection as he rolled in an eagle and five birdies to reach seven under to sit alongside the Englishman.
The pair are one clear of a chasing pack which includes Matt Wallace, Swede Henrik Norlander, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and Dutchman Daan Huizing.
“I got the nice side of the draw to be honest, this morning was brutal and luckily the last eight or nine holes there was not much wind so it was nice to capitalise on the opportunities I had and hopefully the same tomorrow,” Fitzpatrick said.
“The wind was a difficult factor for putting, later on in the day the greens, with how much its rained, were fairly soft and having three-footers on these greens with the wind was pretty tricky.
“I was happy to nudge them close as much as I could. Just happy to have a good back nine and finish the the way I did.”
Fitzpatrick got his round going from the second hole when he drained a 36 foot birdie putt.
His next chance came at the 7th after he found the green with his tee shot before lagging up his first putt for a tap-in gain.
At the next, his tee shot found the greenside rough but he only needed one more effort as he holed out his bump-and-run chip to reach the turn at three under.
A stunning tee-shot to concessional range at the par-three 11th saw him improve his score before adding another birdie at the next to sit one adrift of clubhouse leader Wallace.
Fitzpatrick found the par-five 14th in two and he only needed two blows with the putter to join Wallace and Garcia-Heredia at the summit at six under.
He followed suit at the next 15th hole and when he left his eagle putt to within two feet, he tapped in for birdie to become the outright leader at seven under.
The only trouble he suffered was at the last when he pulled his tee-shot into the trees, which resulted in him chipping out into the fairway.
Fitzpatrick found the green with his third shot but still had 18 feet left to salvage par and maintain his clean card, which he did with ease.
Garcia-Heredia went out in the penultimate group of the day which started on the back nine and it was there where he made his charge.
The Spaniard had to wait four holes to make his mark, but then there was no stopping the 42-year-old.
A birdie at the 13th hole was followed by a stunning second shot at the par-five 14th, where he stuck his approach to three feet.
He rolled in the eagle putt before adding a gain from five feet at the next to reach four under through six holes.
Garcia-Heredia maintained the momentum with a 22 foot birdie at the 17th and he finished his front nine in 29 shots after picking up another gain at the next.
He parred his way to the 8th, where he joined Fitzpatrick into joint leadership after draining a birdie putt from eight feet.
“I played really solid. You know I got lucky with the draw, no rain, a little bit windy, but I played really solid on the par fives, hitting greens, my irons were good. It was one of those rounds were everything flows,” Garcia-Heredia said.
“My putting has really improved since the BMW International, my strength in the game is normally playing solid with my driving irons, the weakness has been my putting.
“But the last few weeks everything was off except the putter, so this week we were working with my coach the last couple weeks and my game looks back on track.”
Wallace, who endured difficult wet conditions in the morning, went out in 32 and came home with the same score in his bogey-free 64 to set the clubhouse target before being usurped by Fitzpatrick and Garcia-Heredia.
Norlander mixed an eagle, five birdies and a dropped shot to climb to six under, Scrivener picked up seven shots and a bogey, while a bogey at the 8th – his penultimate hole – saw Huizing slip back from the leading group.
Swiss pair Nicola Gerhardsen, who is an amateur, and Cedric Gugler sit two off the pace at five under alongside Germany’s Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, Stone, Welshman Stuart Manley, England’s Andrew Johnston and 2012 champion Richie Ramsay.
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
