The leaderboard at the Oman Open was draped in the Tricolore as a trio of Frenchmen made a big impression on day one at Al Mouj Golf.
Raphaël Jacquelin, Alexander Levy and Adrien Saddier may all be at different stages in their European Tour careers but they carded matching rounds of 68 to make positive starts in Muscat.
Jacquelin is a four time winner on the European Tour and recently celebrated his 600th appearance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
The 44-year-old needed to use his career money exemption last term after finishing inside Europe's top 100 in 18 of 19 seasons before 2017, and regained his card with a 111th place finish on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex.
An encouraging start to 2019 has seen him make four out of six cuts and he showed much of his renowned consistency on the Omani coast, dropping just one shot.
“It’s a great start, I was very pleased with how I hit the ball," he said. "I was solid off the tees and from the fairways as well. It was a great day with only one bogey on the card and the rest was solid.
"It’s a nice track. It was pleasant this morning with not a lot of wind so we’ve been lucky. It was a nice surprise this morning teeing off early when there wasn’t much wind but it’s going to be windy at some stage.”
Levy's victory at last season's Trophée Hassan II moved him past Jacquelin's number of wins and just one behind Thomas Levet's record French total of six.
The 28-year-old has plenty of time to chase down the 2004 Ryder Cup star and admits he is still learning every day, citing a double bogey after getting in bunker trouble on the sixth.
It’s a long career. It wasn’t my first mistake and it won’t be my last - Alexander Levy
“It was a good day," he said. "I played solid and holed some nice putts.
“I was a little stupid on the sixth. I hit my drive in the wrong spot and tried to do a stupid thing in the bunker and made a double bogey. It was the only bad part of my day, so you just have to learn from those things. It’s a long career, though, it wasn’t my first mistake and it won’t be my last.
“I’ve changed my coach recently and it’s a different way I think about my swing now. It’s not easy to change things after a few years. I tried my best today and it was good.”
Saddier graduated from the Qualifying School in 2013 but saw a shoulder injury hamper his rookie campaign on the European Tour.
The 26-year-old regained his card via the European Challenge Tour in 2017 and only narrowly missed out on retaining it last season as he finished 117th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex.
With a new caddie on the bag, he holed a wedge on the second in one of the highlights of day one, and the 2016 Fred Olsen Challenge de España winner is hoping to go from strength to strength.
“I’m really happy with that," he said. "I have a new caddie this week, so it’s good to start like this and have that confidence in each other.
“I was three under through three. I holed out with my wedge on the second and then had nice chip from the greenside to set up a birdie on the third hole. It was a nice start.
"I missed a few birdie chances but I was pretty happy. My game feels good so I just need to stay focused and take things shot by shot.”
