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Brier leads the way in Madrid
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Brier leads the way in Madrid

Austrian rookie Markus Brier set the early pace in the BBVA Open Turespaña Masters Comunidad de Madrid with an opening 64, seven under par, but among those hot on his heels are Darren Clarke, seeking a win to return to the top of the Volvo Order of Merit, and the defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez.

Brier, the first player from Austria ever to hold a European Tour card, has already demonstrated his liking for Spain by finishing second in the Peugeot Open de Espana at PGA Golf de Catalunya in Girona in May. Today he holed five putts of between 15 and 35 feet at Club de Campo to establish a one-stroke advantage over local star Santiago Luna.

Clarke's five-under-par 66 in Madrid, completed with a superb birdie from a fairway bunker on the 349-yard 18th, left the 32-year-old Ulsterman in joint-third place, only two strokes off the lead.

Clarke, hoping to take advantage of Lee Westwood's decision to have a second successive week at home after his Cisco World Match Play win, was one over par after six holes, but then birdied the seventh and ninth and came home in 31.

"I felt really good before I went out, but when I started I was not quite right and pulled a couple of shots," he said.

A 242-yard three-iron to 20 feet on the long seventh turned his score around as he charged up the leaderboard.

Alongside Clarke are Jiménez, chasing a hat-trick of Turespaña Masters titles, and 44-year-old Zimbabwean Tony Johnstone, who putt his success down to a new putter - a George Nicholl Pinsplitter - dating back to the 1920s. He acquired the club last week from an American student at St Andrews University and has promised it back when he is fed up with it.

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