ST. QUENTIN, France, 27 June 2003 — Amateur Eric Chaudouet took advantage of a wild card to share the early first round lead with a flawless 66 in the French Open yesterday.
Britain’s Philip Golding and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, who ran in six successive birdies, also went round in six under par to finish one shot clear of the field.
Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara and Britons Bradley Dredge and Gary Birch Junior shot 67s to share fourth place. Briton Justin Rose, one of the tournament favorites, missed out on a 67 when he trod on his ball in the rough on the 17th hole while chatting to playing partner Ian Poulter, incurring a one-stroke penalty. Chaudouet set the target, despite needing a wild card to make his debut in the tournament.
The 25-year-old plays in the French team in next week’s European Championships and it was one of the national coaches who persuaded French Open sponsors to give Chaudouet, last year’s French Amateur Champion, a wild card. The last amateur to lead a European Tour event was 17-year-old Spaniard Pablo Martin, who shared top spot going into the final round of this season’s Canaries Spanish Open before fading to finish 23rd. Golding has turned his career around after nearly retiring at the end of last season.
