WOBURN, England — Young gun Matthew Fitzpatrick fired six birdies and an eagle to sprint to the top of the leaderboard with a seven-under-par 64 in the British Masters first round on Thursday.
The 21-year-old showed the sort of sizzling form that once took him to the top of the world amateur rankings as he opened a one-stroke lead over fellow Englishman Lee Slattery, Robert Karlsson of Sweden, Dane Soren Kjeldsen and Scot Marc Warren.
Fitzpatrick, who was within inches of claiming the first 59 in European Tour history at last month's Dutch Open, took advantage of ideal scoring conditions by racing to the turn in 31 at Woburn's Marquess Course.