Intro:

Oliver Fisher holds a one-stroke lead following Wednesday's (21st January) opening round of the Qatar Masters in Doha.

Script:

The European Tour's 'desert swing' resumed with the opening round of the Qatar Masters.

Sergio Garcia began his title defence in reasonable form, carding a three-under-par 69.

Justin Rose finished one stroke and one place above his Ryder Cup team-mate on the leaderboard, carding a 68 for a share of 14th place.

Ernie Els made a fine start to his round, birdying three of the first four holes.

He shot a bogey-free, five-under-par round of 67.

The South African sits alongside two-time Qatar Masters winner Paul Lawrie and compatriot Branden Grace, amongst others, two shots off the pace.

Alone in second place after the opening round is Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who shot a bogey-free, six-under-par 66.

Starting at the tenth, the Spaniard carded three birdies in succession around the turn and rolled in his sixth of the round at the par-three eighth hole.

But that flawless round wasn't enough for the lead, which was claimed by Oliver Fisher, who takes a one shot lead into round two.