West trio make encouraging starts in Spain
Defending champion Sergio Garcia took the lead on the wind-affected first day – and one of his main rivals is already out of the event.
Because of flight problems Masters champion Angel Cabrera failed to make it from Bermuda in time, but would have been OK if only play had been suspended 15 minutes earlier.
Morgan was three under after 13 holes when play was suspended, while Dixon and Wood completed their rounds in two under and one under par respectively.
Garcia was on the 17th hole of his eight-under-par 63 when 40mph gusts stopped the action for three hours at lunchtime.
When the stoppage came, Cabrera's playing partners, Martin Kaymer and Gonzalo Fernando-Castano, had just teed off, and that meant the Argentinian had to be disqualified.
Cabrera's absence makes Garcia an even stronger favourite for what would be the first successful defence of his professional career.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who is without a top-three finish this year and has fallen from second to 10th in the world rankings, covered the back nine first in a six-under 29. He then holed a seven-footer on the first, chipped to within three feet of the flag at the long fourth and on the resumption of play birdied the 553-yard eighth.
Garcia's only bogey came at the ninth – his last – and he said: "You never like to finish like that, but other than that it was pretty solid and I made some nice putts.
"We get a wind like that only three or four days a year – and usually on those days we chill at home!"



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