England's Nick Dougherty put a wretched run of form behind him to emerge as the first round leader of the European Masters.
Englishman back to form after nightmare run this season
England's Nick Dougherty put a wretched run of form behind him to emerge as the first round leader of the European Masters after a fabulous first round of 63 in Switzerland.
It came as something of a shock to see Dougherty's name at the top of the leaderboard given that the Englishman has missed 21 consecutive cuts stretching back to last November - including every European Tour event he has entered this season.
But the 29-year-old finally looks set to end that horrific run after a bogey-free round saw him finish the opening day at Crans-sur-Sierre two clear of a star-studded field on eight-under.
Dougherty's closest challengers are major champions Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer who were joined on six-under by England's Gary Boyd and Lee Sung of Korea.
McIlroy was making his first competitive appearance in three weeks after injuring his wrist at the USPGA Championship.
The 22-year-old mixed seven birdies with just a single bogey and reported afterwards that his wrist felt "totally fine" and "nearly back to 100 percent".
2010 USPGA champion Kaymer managed an identical tally of seven birdies as he too signed for a first round of 65.
Recent Irish Open winner Simon Dyson and Spain's Alejandro Canizares are a shot further back, while world number two Lee Westwood forms part of a six-man posse at four-under.
The group contains two major champions in Darren Clarke and Micheal Campbell as well as Richard McEvoy, Jaco Van Zyl and Jeev Milkha Singh.
Two eagles in three holes
Westwood demonstrated his experience to bounce back from a double-bogey at the second to play his next seven holes in seven-under-par.
The 38-year-old made eagles at the fifth and the seventh, both driveable par-fours, but endured a scruffy close to his round with bogeys at 17 and 18.
But the story of the day was undoubtedly Dougherty who produced a flawless display at the Alpine resort.
He covered the back nine first in a four-under 31, then added further birdies at the first, third, seventh and long ninth - the last of them when his pitch spun back to four feet after he had carved his second shot onto the adjoining 18th fairway.
With the race for Ryder Cup points beginning at this week's event, European captain Jose Maria Olazabal was no example to his prospective team members.
The Spaniard fluffed a tap-in of less than six inches on his way to a 75, although that was still one better than his predecessor Colin Montgomerie who ended up at five-over-par.
