Three men in the lead at Celtic Manor, on a par 71 that held up well against the field of European Tour players. Author of a 67 (-4), the French Julien Guerrier showed fighting spirit on the course of the 2010 Ryder Cup, recovering from a trio of bogeys at the start of the game to finally take the lead.
Also at -4, Scotsman Connor Syme briefly reached five under par before unleashing a shot on the final hole. Englishman Dale Whitnell had four birdies and no bogeys.
Ewen Ferguson, Maximilian Kieffer, Eddie Pepperell, Marcus Armitage, Mikko Korhonen and Ivan Cantero Gutierrez are one shot behind, tied for fourth.
Only two other Frenchmen appear in the top 50 after a round in Wales. Frédéric Lacroix is 15th (-1), while Grégory Havret is 35th (par).
