Clark outshines big guns in Spain

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD (GB & Ire unless stated)
-7 M Erlandsson (Swe) -6 J Garcia (Sp), I Garrido (Sp) (It) -5 G Clark Selected others:-2 MA Jimenez (Sp), C Montgomerie level D Clarke +2 P McGinley +3 J Daly

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Erlandsson was in impressive form on the greens in round one

Englishman Gary Clark eclipsed Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke in the first round of the Spanish Open.

The 37-year-old had eight birdies in his 67 to sit in fourth place in Seville, two behind Martin Erlandsson.

Montgomerie, seeking to move up the Ryder Cup standings having slipped to 34th, started from the 10th and bogeyed his first two holes but rallied to a 70

Clarke, who won the Asian Open last week, mixed four birdies with four bogeys in a 72 to stand seven back.

Montgomerie, returning to action after a five week absence, during which he got married for the second time, was satisfied with his recovery on the opening day.

"I've won tournaments from worse starts than this," the 44-year-old Scot said.

Referring to his bid for a place at Valhalla where the Americans meet Europe from 16-21 September, Montgomerie admitted: "My job is to get back into the team and I am nowhere near yet.

606: DEBATE I think he's (Clarke) got more chance of getting in the Ryder Cup side than Monty has. bluecares

"I'm playing eight of the next nine weeks and I need to win twice."

Erlandsson, world ranked 345th, had his best finish at the 2005 Wales Open when he was joint second behind Miguel Angel Jimenez.

He earned a one-shot lead over Spanish duo Ignacio Garrido and Jordi Garcia, ranked 350th and 1,102nd respectively, largely thanks to some inspired putting.

He needed only 23 putts in his round, including a 40-footer, a 25-footer and two from around 18 feet.

Garrido was a member of Europe's 1997 Ryder Cup side and won the Tour's PGA Championship five years ago, but has had only six top-10 finishes since then. Garcia, who, like famous namesake Sergio is from Castellon, eagled the 517-yard 13th in his 66.

Clarke, who three-putted the green at the short 17th, said his three-year wait for a win had left him feeling drained: "I didn't get much sleep again - last week took more out of me than I realised.

"Mentally, I was not at the races. The game's fine, but my head's tired - I made some poor decisions."