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Cabrera sets early pace with 63

Angel Cabrera of Argentina tied the course record at Wentworth Club with a nine-under-par 63 that left him two shots clear of the field after Friday's first round of the Volvo PGA Championship. Welshman Phillip Price shot 65 for solo second at seven- under, while Ireland's Paul McGinley, Australian Nick O'Hern and Andrew Oldcorn of Scotland each turned in six-under 66s to share third place.

Colin Montgomerie, gunning for a record fourth straight win in this event, suffered a triple-bogey eight on the par-five 17th. He finished with a one- over 73 and is tied for 94th with 10 others, including Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood, who are ranked fifth and sixth in the world, respectively. Monty is currently No. 7 in the world rankings.

After making his way out in two-under 33, Cabrera went five-under over a four-hole stretch to kick off the par-37 back nine.

Cabrera, first in driving distance on the European Tour, walloped a 325- yard drive at the par-five 12th and followed with an eight-iron to 10 feet for eagle. He added birdies at each of Wentworth's closing par-fives to match Wayne Riley's mark of 63 from 1991.

Cabrera, who came into the 2001 season with a number of second-place showings to his credit, finally broke through with a victory in his home country at the Argentina Open. A week later he tied for 10th behind Tiger Woods at the Masters after briefly holding the lead in the final round.

"It gives you a lot of confidence and makes you realize you can be fighting with the biggest," said Cabrera. "But I'm not trying to hit it longer than Tiger or anybody. I'm just trying to improve my game and I'm not interested in how far I hit it. It's natural."

Price, who captured his second Portuguese Open title in April, birdied six of his first 10 holes Friday before dropping his only shot, at the 11th. He finished up with birdies at 16 and 18.

"I think the difference for me recently has been the win in Portugal," Price said. "It just boosted my confidence, you know, you just relax a little bit more and flow a little better. But overall I have improved from a few years ago. My results have improved as has my ability to shoot lower rounds. So I know, if I can play well now, then I can do a lot of damage."

Mikael Lundberg recorded the first ace of his professional career on Friday, holing a five-iron shot at the 186-yard 10th hole. The Swede is knotted in sixth place at five-under 67 with Padraig Harrington, Steve Webster, Alastair Forsyth and Peter Baker.

Ernie Els, who at No. 3 in the world is the highest ranked player in this week's field, stands seven shots off the pace after a two-under 70.

Montgomerie was two-under on the day with three birdies and a bogey when he drove out of bounds at the 17th. He teed up his third shot but knocked that drive into the trees and was forced to pitch out. The Scot's fifth shot missed the green and he chipped then two-putted to get down in eight.

"It’s disappointing today obviously but it’s not the end of the world," Montgomerie said. "I think I’ll need something like 65 tomorrow to get back in contention. I’m quite capable of doing that and I’m looking forward to doing it. I started well with a birdie today so if that starts happening tomorrow we’ll see what happens. But I need a 65, minimum."

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