Colin Montgomerie made the ideal start to his debut in the MCB Tour Championship, reaching the turn in five under par 31.
The Scot, who is bidding for a second European Senior Tour title in his rookie year, carded birdies at the first and fourth holes, before three in a row from the sixth.
Montgomerie is playing at Constance Belle Mare Plage for the first time and is looking to round off his first season as a senior golfer in style.
He will be looking to better the clubhouse target set by Englishman George Ryall, who signed for a four under par 68, a score then matched by his fellow Bristolian Andrew Sherborne.
Ryall had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, including a chip in on the eighth, then picked up the only birdie of his back nine on the 13th hole.
“It’s a good start and I played way better than my score suggests,” he said. “I didn’t make the putts on the front nine. It got a bit scrappy on the back nine and I had to make a few putts on the back nine to keep the round going.
“I’m delighted though as it is a solid start. I’ve done fairly well around here before and I like the course. So hopefully this year I will make a few more putts.”
Sherborne began his round with three birdies in the opening four holes and picked up another shot on the seventh. His only bogey of the day came on the 15th, when he missed a four foot par putt, but he regained that shot on the 17th.
“It’s good to see a couple of Bristol boys up there,” he said. “It was a nice start for me. It was one of my better rounds of the year for scoring. It’s been a disappointing year, but it’s only been little things that have been letting me down, so it’s nice to come out here and shoot a nice score.”
Mike McLean, who won the Mauritius Open over the Legend Course in 1994 and 2000, opened with a three under par 69.
