Golf: Lee leads in Lyon

England’s Daren Lee shrugged off a four-hour rain delay to hold a one-shot lead after the first day of the French Open in Lyon.

Heavy overnight rain on an already saturated course meant play was unable to start on schedule at 7.30am local time and the opening round was incomplete as darkness fell.

After a lengthy clean-up operation play eventually began at 11.30am with the par-five fifth reduced to a 177-yard par three due to the amount of water still on parts of the fairway, the par of the course therefore reduced from 72 to 70.

All the distractions did not bother Lee, however, and he carded six birdies in a flawless six-under-par 64 to lead countrymen Warren Bennett and Jonathan Lomas and Sweden’s Anders Forsbrand by a stroke.

Jose Maria Olazabal was two shots off the lead after an error-free 66 alongside Denmark’s Anders Hansen and another Englishman, Andrew Marshall.

Lee missed the cut in Portugal last week after struggling with his putter but rediscovered his touch on the greens after adding more loft to the club in a refreshingly low-tech manner.

"I thought putting some loft on it would be a big job but they did it in no time, just whacked it with a hammer," revealed Lee, who won the Silver Medal as leading amateur in the Open championship won by Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1992.

"I really struggled with my putting last week, four-putted one green, but putting a couple of extra degrees loft has helped me get the ball rolling much better and given me more confidence."

Lee, from Harlow in Essex, is renowned for not playing the customary practice rounds at tournaments and this week was no different with no apparent ill effects.

"I think what I do is better than a practice round, just walking around," said Lee, who retained his card by just two places on the money list last season.

"I take more in, get the lines off the tee and do more chipping and putting around the greens than when you’re playing in a fourball and it saves you energy as well. Practice rounds can take five hours to get round."

Bennett also finished top amateur in the Open, behind Nick Price at Turnberry in 1994, and also kept a dropped shot off his card in his 65.

"The key is to drive it well round here and I did that apart from the last hole," said Bennett, who chipped in for an eagle on the final hole to finish second behind Vijay Singh in the Singapore Masters earlier this season.

"At 7,300 yards it looks long on paper and is playing longer with the course being wet, but with today’s equipment it’s not that long and you’re hitting a lot of mid-irons into the greens which are fairly big.

"I had a lot of chances and it could have been even lower, but it’s bubbling up nicely.

"I played average in Spain and finished 16th and played well last week to finish ninth. It’s been a good start to the season and I would have taken it before the start.

"Keeping my playing right was the main priority and having done that I’ve just got to try and freewheel a bit."

Olazabal was well satisfied with his opening 66 after missing the cut in the Spanish Open two weeks ago, the Spaniard taking a relaxed approach during the rain delay.

"It is tough coming here so early, you don’t know what to do," said the double Masters champion.

"You don’t want to start practising four hours before you tee off but I managed to sleep for 50 minutes in the players’ lounge.

"My driving is still weak but I made my score with good iron play. I left some putts out there but made some too so it evens out a little bit.

"Four under every day round here is not going to be far away from winning the tournament. I’ll take four under every day, 16 under par, and sit and wait.

"It’s a good score, there is a lot of danger out there with water and a lot of bushes, many things can happen."