Cup team-mates make positive start

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Westwood opened his defence of the Quinn Insurance British Masters at The Belfry with a four-under-par 68 to be only one behind leaders Marcus Fraser and Mikael Lundberg.

McDowell, the only other member of last week's losing team in Louisville to be playing in the £1.8million event, had a 72, but Clarke crashed to an 80 and Montgomerie to an 81 - his worst score in Europe for over four years.

The 45-year-old Scot, who pulled out of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne two weeks ago with a shoulder injury, was paired with Westwood.

"He didn't have one of his greatest days," said the Worksop golfer. "But the rough is thick, the course is demanding and if you miss the fairways it can get away from you very easily.

"I felt a bit jet-lagged over the last four holes and my legs started to go a bit, but everything was pretty good. My fitness has a lot to do with that. There are no negatives to being fitter."

As well as wanting to retain the title Westwood is looking to close the gap on Padraig Harrington at the top of the Order of Merit.

Australian Fraser, 115th on the money list and fully aware that only 115 players keep their cards at the end of the season, went to the turn in 31 early in the day.

By holding his position over the back nine the 30-year-old, just back from a trip back home to see his pregnant wife Carlie, set a clubhouse target which only Lundberg, the Swede who won the Russian Open for a second time in July, could match during the afternoon.

They are a stroke ahead of not only Westwood, but also fellow Englishman Sam Walker, Dane Anders Hansen and Argentina's Rafa Echenique.