HONG KONG: England’s rising star Matthew Fitzpatrick enjoyed a fine start to the new European Tour on Thursday, firing a four-under par round as Sergio Garcia struggled in testing conditions at the Hong Kong Open. Playing in a group with compatriot Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Sam Brazel, Fitzpatrick hit six birdies to finish with a 66 on the par-70 course, putting him in second place one stroke off the first-round lead. Olympic champion Justin Rose had predicted following the previous day’s pro-am warm-up competition that four-under would be a good score given the course’s rapid greens and swirling winds, and he duly finished two-under. India’s SSP Chawrasia was the overnight leader after shooting the day’s only 65. The majority of the competitors failed to make par.Masters champion Sergio Garcia struggled to find form, starting his round with a bogey and hitting a double-bogey on 10 after his ball rolled back into a creek. It was a volatile round for the Spaniard throughout, also finding trees on the 18th — although he delighted the crowd by following a fluffed chip on hole eight with a second attempt which rolled straight on to the green and up into the hole.Meanwhile Fleetwood, his playing partner on Thursday, finished the opening round of his European Tour defence at two-under.
