Moseley takes first round lead in France

Jarrod Moseley leads the French Open after the rain delayed first round was completed this morning

Jarrod Moseley leads the French Open after the rain delayed first round was completed this morning. The Australian holds a slender one shot lead over England’s Darren Lee.

Moseley was one of 75 players unable to complete their rounds on schedule yesterday after a four-hour delay when heavy rain flooded parts of the Sangliers course at Lyon Golf Club.

The 28-year-old from Perth returned to the course today at 8 a.m. local time and birdied his final three holes to card a seven under par 63 and take the lead by one shot from Lee.

"I started on the 12th and hit a five iron to 10 feet for a birdie which was a nice way to start the morning," said Moseley, who won the 1999 Heineken Classic on his European Tour debut.

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"Then I birdied the last three, played beautifully and rolled in a few putts after changing to cross-handed putting this week.

"It's the best round for a while, I've been a bit quiet over the last six months. I'm hitting the ball better than two years ago but dried up with the putter.

There were mixed fortunes for the Irish contingent on the Golf Club de Lyon course. Paul McGinley, who was expected to be Ireland’s strongest contender, had a miserable morning, including three bogeys, to slip to two over par.

Paddy Gribben and Philip Walton lead the Irish challenge on two under par with David Higgins one shot further back while Ronan Rafferty and Gary Murphy both had solid level par rounds.