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McGinley takes first day honours

Paul McGinley stormed into the first round lead in the Moroccan Open on Thursday with a six-under-par 67.

The Irishman made a great start to his bid to boost his Ryder Cup hopes by gaining a one shot advantage.

McGinley began with an eagle and finished with a birdie as he overtook three players already in the clubhouse with 68s -- American Craig Hainline and Swede Michael Jonzon, both trying to regain lost European Tour cards, and English rookie Neil Cheetham.

"I needed a five-wood to make the green on my first hole for the eagle because there was still a lot of dew around, but I hit it to 20 feet and made the putt. I can't remember ever starting my round with an eagle before," said McGinley

McGinley is the second highest-placed player on the Ryder Cup table in Morocco at 14 and the Dubliner is keen to become the latest Irishman to feature in a European team.

He said: "I have the Ryder Cup at the back of my mind but I have to realise that I'm only a quarter of the way there even if I'm only four places out of the top 10.

"It's going to need a great amount of points and I also know that I must make it into the top 10 because it's very likely that 11th place won't make it the way the picks might go among the players playing in America."

Coincidentally, McGinley played the first round alongside Swede Robert Karlsson, who finished 11th in 1999 Ryder Cup qualifying and failed to make the team. Only the top 10 are automatic choices.

Karlsson, pre-tournament favourite, was three off the lead after a 70.

A strong breeze caused problems in the afternoon, particularly to Johan Skold of Sweden who ran up a five-over nine on the 13th during a round of 82.

Big-hitting former U.S. amateur champion Hank Kuehne, using his fifth invitation of seven to try to gain a European card, looked to have defied the breeze. He picked up seven strokes in 11 holes to lie just two strokes off the pace with three holes to go, but then dropped two shots for a 71.

Defending champion Jamie Spence of England struggled to a 76 while compatriot Justin Rose's shot 75 on his Tour return.

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