LADIES

Jannicke Nielsen Bakken leads the European Senior Ladies' Championship after day one. The Norwegian player led early on Thursday morning after making birdie on five consecutive holes on her front nine.

After making three double-bogeys on har back-nine, Bakken finished with a 76 and a +4 total, which gives her a one shot lead heading into the second of three rounds.

After the round, Bakken said: "The front nine was awesome, everything went in! The back nine was hard, it played long, but I'm happy. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'll take it one shot at a time."

Christine Petit Martin is currently in second place following a five-over-par 77. The French player was one-under-par for her front nine, but dropped six shots coming back.

Defending champion Susanne Lichtenberg is alone in third place after a 78 (+6). The german player struggled early on, making four bogeys and a double-bogey on her first five holes. She battled back with five birdies on her next nine however, and remains strongly in contention just two shots back.

MEN

In the men's category, Mariusz Eriksson is the player to catch. The Swedish player shot a level-par 72, despite a double bogey on the last hole, and leads by three shots. 

Six players are tied for second place on three-over-par, including 2016 bronze medalist and Irish player, Karl Bornemann.

2017 champion, Markus Frank, shot an 81 to start his title-defence, and finds himself nine shots off the pace. 

Conditions were calm on the first day, but the course played long after heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening, making scoring difficult.