Sami Valimaki soars clear after course record 62 in Mauritius

Sami Valimaki produced a putting masterclass on his way to a course-record 10-under-par 62 and the first-round lead at the Mauritius Open.

The 24-year-old Finn holed from long distance on the way out and after turning for home, with two runs of four straight birdies at Mont Choisy Le Golf.

He leads by two shots from playing partner Oliver Bekker with Frenchman Pierre Pineau third on seven under.

John Murphy and Tom McKibben were the best of the Irish on two under which was good enough for a tie for 26th, while Gary Hurley finished on even par.

Starting on the 10th, Murphy made it to the turn under par after birdieing 15 and 18, before dropping back to even with a second bogey of the day at the second. Two more birdies at five and nine moved him to two under.

McKibbin reached the turn on two under, but had an up and down back nine, mixing three dropped shots with three birdies.

Pineau set the early pace when he birdied five of his last seven holes to sign for a seven-under 65 but Valimaki reeled him in after catching fire with his putter – firing four birdies in a row from the fifth and again from the 12th.

The pick of the bunch on his five-under front nine was the 55-footer he holed for birdie at the sixth, before another long putt dropped at the next.

He gained a further shot on the par-five 12th following a nice chip to tap-in range and joined Pineau at the summit after a smart up-and-down from wet sand at the 13th.

He was out on his own after taking advantage of the par-five 14th with a third birdie in a row and a long, uphill putt for a two at the 15th gave him a two-shot cushion.

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There was a slight wobble when he found rough off the tee and sand with his second at the 16th but he got up and down to keep his