Clarke stumbles after fine start

DAY ONE LEADERBOARD (GB & Ire unless stated):
-8 P Martin (Spa), G Bourdy (Fra) -7 F Castona, J Lara (Spa), M Jonzon (Swe)
-6 J Kamte, C Schwartzel (Rsa), A Forsyth, S Khan, F Delamontagne (Fra)
-5 L Slattery (Swe), A McLardy (Rsa), S Luna (Spa)
Selected others: -4 D Howell, T Levet (Fra)

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Clarke finished the day in joint 13th

Darren Clarke made an excellent start to the Portuguese Open on Thursday but fell away over the back nine.

Clarke raced to six under after nine holes, but three bogeys meant he finished the first round with a three-under-par 68 at Oitavos Dunes.

France's Gregory Bourdy and defending champion Pablo Martin of Spain set a new course record with eight-under 63s.

The pair lead Swede Michael Jonzon by one shot and Spain's Jose Manuel Lara and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano by two.

Simon Khan and Alistair Forsyth were the highest placed Britons, tied in sixth position alongside South Africa's James Kamte and France's Francois Delamontagne on six under.

Bourdy and Martin took full advantage of Clarke's stumble, firing eight birdies in their record-breaking rounds to break the previous mark held by Simon Dyson and Jamie Donaldson.

606: DEBATE Today's competition in Portugal has only a handful of the top 100 in the world rankings zolayesss

Spain's Martin - who had not broken the 70 barrier in six tournaments this season - became the first ever amateur to win a European Tour event last year when he claimed the Portuguese title.

And the 21-year-old conjured up his 2007 form at the Estoril course on day one.

"I would like to defend (the title) - it's extra motivation," said Martin. "I was pretty focused from the beginning."

Clarke's superb front nine saw him register a lead of three strokes at the turn, but his indifferent putting on the back nine saw the Northern Irishman lose ground.

"My game is fine, but I'm wasting shots - any momentum I am getting I am giving back," said Clarke.

England's David Howell, who missed out on next week's Masters invites, finished the day on two under.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy just missed out on winning a sports car when his tee shot just missed the hole at the 348-yard 11th.

He sunk the two-foot putt he was left with to claim an eagle but two late bogeys saw the 21-year-old finish on two under.