Three share first day honours

An astonishing front nine from Sweden's Marten Olander has seen him burst to the top of the French Open leaderboard at Le Golf National.

The Swede carded eight birdies in the front nine holes, marred by a bogey at the 8th, as he went out in an incredible 29.

Olander shares the lead with Colin Montgomerie and France's Jean-Francois at the end of the first round.

There was little sign of what was to come when the 30-year-old Swede, starting on the back nine, double bogeyed the 11th and 12th to slump to 4-over after just three holes.

A birdie at the 14th improved matters before he started an incredible burst starting at the 18th which would see him equal the European Tour record with eight consecutive birdies to give him an opening 67.

Welshman Jamie Donaldson with Spain's defending champion Jose Maria Olazabal are a shot behind on 3-under-par.

Olazabal, making his first strokeplay appearance on European soil this season, opened on the back nine with three pars before a run of three-four-three propelled him to 3-under-par at the top of the leaderboard.

He struck four birdies in the last six holes, sandwiched around two bogeys at the 16th and 17th, to finish with a satisfactory 67.

The Spaniard, already a winner on the European and US tours this season, is in some of the best form of his career and lies third in the moneylist in the United States after his triumph at the Buick Invitational earlier in the year.

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