JOHN Bickerton began his first tournament as a champion by carding level par in his Madrid Open first round.
The Droitwich golfer, who won his inaugural European Tour title at the Abama Canaries Open in Tenerife by five strokes last weekend, dropped a shot at the 18th to finish with 71.
Hereford's David Park closed yesterday on three under, five shots behind joint leaders Robert Karlsson of Sweden and England's Mark Roe.
Seve Ballesteros marked his comeback with a six over par 77, the second worst score of the opening day.
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