Coetzee, Fox catch fire

SAINT QUENTIN EN YVELINES, France (AFP) — South African George Coetzee and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the French Open on Thursday as the European Tour returned to Le Golf National a year after it hosted the Ryder Cup.

The leading duo fired six-under-par rounds of 65 to edge ahead on a kind day for scoring, with world No. 128 Fox missing a good birdie chance on the final green as darkness started to close in.

The scene, which greeted the players, could not have differed more from just over 12 months ago.

The grandstands were gone and there was a low-key feel to an opening day, watched by only a smattering of spectators, of a tournament, which has lost some of its allure this week after being pushed from its usual spot at the start of July and removed from the lucrative Rolex Series.

“Today was a bit quiet. Thursday is normal. It’s okay,” said French player Benjamin Hebert.

Defending champion Alex Noren is the highest-ranked player in the field at 53rd and the only man who also featured in the Ryder Cup, so organizers will be relieved that the event will be returning to its regular slot next year, albeit reportedly in southern France rather than the Paris suburbs.

The 33-year-old Coetzee played the front nine in five-under, while a bogey on the penultimate green was his only blemish.

Coetzee has managed only one top-five finish so far this season — when he was tied-second behind compatriot Justin Harding at the Qatar Masters in March — but thinks he is starting to find the form which helped him climb to a career-high 41st in the rankings in 2013.