Friday 20 October 2017 19:06, UK
Sergio Garcia defied the pressures of being tournament host as he claimed a share of the first-round lead at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters.
Garcia made seven birdies in his 66 to join Joost Luiten at the top of the leaderboard on five under par, although the Spaniard missed out on the outright lead when he dropped his second shot of the day at the eighth - his 17th.
Fellow Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal is a shot off the lead alongside England's Robert Rock, but it was a tough day for Jon Rahm as he struggled to a 74 in his first European Tour event in his homeland.
Garcia, who won the last edition of the tournament six years ago, made a bright start with two birdies over the first three holes of the back nine, and he picked up further strokes at 15 and 18 to turn in 32.
The Masters champion then hit back from a bogey at the first with three birdies in four holes from the third, but he could not save par at the eighth and had to settle for a share of the clubhouse lead with Luiten, who staged a stunning finish to his round.
"It was nice," said Garcia. "It was gettable because it was soft but you still had to hit good shots and I was able to do that for the most part of the day. I'm very happy with my round.
"The game was on pretty much all day. I hit my irons very well, I didn't drive the ball well on the eighth hole but I was pretty much spot on there and I made some nice putts here and there. The greens were rolling quite fast, more than anything the back nine was even faster than the front. Overall I think it was very solid."
Dutchman Luiten, runner-up to Andrew Johnston in last season's Spanish Open at Valderrama, was level par for his round with just seven holes to play before he reeled off five birdies in a sparkling six-hole stretch.
Rock also made light of one of the toughest courses on the European Tour as he raced to six under when he followed an outward 31 with further birdies at 12 and 13, but the English journeyman bogeyed the next two holes and parred in to stay at four under.
He was joined in a tie for third by Larrazabal, who was the best of the later starters as he recovered from an opening bogey with three consecutive birdies around the turn, and he made further gains at 16 and 17 to match Rock's 67.
Johnston again proved his liking for the former Ryder Cup venue as he birdied his first two holes and made a nice four at the famous long 17th, but the popular "Beef" could not keep his momentum going on the front nine, running up a disappointing six at the long fourth as he settled for a 69.
He was one of five Englishmen in a share of sixth as former Spanish Open champion James Morrison, Richard Finch, Ben Evans and Oliver Wilson were also two under for the day along with Scotland's Scott Jamieson as only 15 players managed to break 70.
But Rahm was not among them as he produced an erratic all-round display, mixing two birdies with five bogeys and being forced to scramble hard to save par throughout the back nine as he slipped to three over par.
