EUROPEAN

• Lucquin, Finch share lead at Mercedes-Benz

  
  

  Cologne, Germany (Sports Network) - Coming off his first-ever European Tour win, Jean-Francois Lucquin fired a six-under 66 on Thursday to take a share of the lead after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

  Lucquin, who beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff last Sunday to win the European Masters, collected seven birdies with just one bogey to join Richard Finch in the lead.

  The duo held a one-shot advantage over Robert Karlsson, who opened with a five-under 67 to stand alone in third place.

  Ross Fisher shot a 68 and stood fourth, while Peter Hanson and James Kingston carded 69s to share fifth -- rounding out the small group of players who broke 70 at Gut Larchenhof.

  Karlsson had the best day among the four European Ryder Cup teammates using the tournament as a tune-up for next week's competition at Valhalla.

  But Miguel Angel Jimenez (72), Graeme McDowell (72) and defending champion Soren Hansen (73) were still in the mix following a day of tough scoring.

  Admitting that the Ryder Cup was in the back of his mind as he played his first round, Karlsson stressed the importance of going about the normal routine of playing in a tournament, and not getting too far ahead of himself.

  He said he won't hold the performances of his European teammates up as an example of how their side will perform against the United States next week.

  "I think we know what we're going to do there anyway," said Karlsson, who will be looking to help the Europeans win their fourth straight Ryder Cup. "I don't think that this makes a huge difference." Lucquin handled the hangover from his first win admirably. It's not surprising that what had been a poor season for the 29-year-old Frenchman is suddenly looking so good.

  He gained more than just his first winner's paycheck last week.

  "Now I'm full of confidence on the fairway, on the tees and on the greens as well," said Lucquin. "And today I just said to my caddie, 'We're going to have fun this week.'" Counting his four sparkling rounds in Switzerland last week, Lucquin has now carded five consecutive scores in the 60s. He posted just 13 sub-70 rounds in his previous 24 starts.

  "I hope it's going to keep going like this," he said.

  Finch, meanwhile, is looking to build on a season that has already produced his first two career wins -- at the New Zealand Open last December, near the beginning of the season, and the Irish Open in May, somewhere in the middle.

  After collecting eight birdies and two bogeys on Thursday, his interest was piqued by the thought of winning again near the end of the season, bringing it full-circle.

  "That sounds good to me," said Finch. "I like that." Other notable names in this week's small field include Michael Campbell (71), John Daly (73), Paul McGinley (73), Stuart Appleby (74), Fred Couples (75), Darren Clarke (76) and Retief Goosen (76).

  09/11 13:16:04 ET