Davies had three birdies in her first round

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD:
GB unless stated
-3 S Arricau (Fra), S Dickens,
L Hall
-2 L Davies, L Friberg (Swe), V Lagoutte (Fra), Asa Gottmo (Swe), E Pilgrim
Selected others:
-1 Rebecca Coakley, Caroline Grady

Laura Davies, chasing a record seventh Order of Merit, is a shot off the lead after the Austrian Open first round.

Davies shot a solid 70 to keep leading trio Stephanie Arricau of France and fellow Britons Suzanne Dickens and Lisa Hall in her sights in Neustadt.

Hall, the 1997 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, lost form on the US circuit, but has bounced back in Europe this year.

"It's been great coming back to Europe and getting some of my confidence back," said the Stoke-on-Trent golfer.

She finished third in the Swiss Open in May, has not missed a cut and is lying at number 31 on the money list with over �350,000.

Starting on the back nine, Hall, 39 this month, had birdies at the 10th, 12th and 16th before slipping up with bogeys at the first and fourth.

But she hit back with more gains at the fifth and ninth.

Northamptonshire's Dickens had six birdies in her best start of a season in which her best result was a tie for 30th in the Portuguese Open.

Davies, the current leader of the Order of Merit, shares second with a group of five including Wales' Eleanor Pilgrim.