Martin Erlandsson leads with record round

A stunning putting round earned Swede Martin Erlandsson a course-record 65 and the first-round lead in the Spanish Open on Thursday.

Erlandsson, seeking his maiden win in his fifth full year on the European Tour, needed only 23 putts in a flawless seven-under-par round to beat the previous Real Club record by a stroke.

The 34-year-old sank putts of 40-feet, 25-feet and two from about 18 feet as he carded seven birdies, three to finish, to lead by a stroke from Spaniards Ignacio Garrido and Jordi Garcia.

Britain’s Gary Clark was a further stroke back.

“I was putting my head off today and I holed a lot of big ones,” Erlandsson told reporters.

“I need to get used to being up there (on the leaderboard), avoid putting pressure on myself and make a few good rounds at weekends to take the (next) step,” added the Swede, whose best finish was second at the 2005 Welsh Open.

Former Ryder Cup player Garrido has struggled recently, missing six of his last seven cuts after finishing joint fourth at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Seven birdies gave the Spaniard hope he could find the form that made him 2003 PGA champion at Wentworth.

Fellow countryman Garcia, ranked 1,102nd in the world, proved the surprise contender after firing an eagle and six birdies.

Clark, third in the recent Madeira Islands Open and looking to claim a full tour card next season after dropping to the lower-level Challenge Tour, compiled eight birdies.

Colin Montgomerie, playing for the first time in five weeks and a week after his honeymoon, was satisfied with his 70.

“I’ve won an awful lot of tournaments from worse starts than this,” said the eight-times European number one.

Last week’s Asian Open winner Darren Clarke cited jet-lag for his 72.

“I wasn’t really with it,” said the Briton. “But I’ll be all right with a good night’s sleep.”

American invitee John Daly slumped to a 75.