Hansen & Gilford lead with 66's

Soren Hansen of Denmark and David Gilford of England both shot 66 to lead by one shot after Thursday's first round of the Spanish Open.

Sergio Garcia of Spain had a bogey-free 67 to tie for third, while U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen of South Africa found water twice and struggled to a 73.

Hansen, without a European Tour win in 92 starts, came into the tournament rested after five weeks at home and picked up seven birdies and one bogey.

Playing in relatively calm conditions on the El Cortijo course, Garcia had five birdies and missed three other chances from inside 6 feet.

``I felt I could go for everything today,'' Garcia said. ``It was a great afternoon and a very comfortable 67.''

Garcia did not miss one of the tight, sharply sloping greens all afternoon and sank no birdie putt longer than 7 feet. The Spaniard wedged to 5 feet at the second and 7 feet at the 11th, then sent a low lob wedge skipping to the top-tier of the 12th green 5 feet from the flag.

``I hit a lot of great shots,'' Garcia said. ``In these conditions I was surprised 66 was leading. I managed to give myself a lot of chances today. Unfortunately I missed some putts which makes 67 a bit disappointing.''

Garcia was tied with Germany's Marcel Siem and England's Jamie Spence and Greg Owen.

Goosen battled a balky putter but also put two shots in the water -- at the 16th (his seventh) and the third -- to drop three shots.

``I didn't make one putt, and tee to green was not much better,'' Goosen said. ``Hitting in the water twice didn't help. Hopefully I can find some rhythm and get my game lifted tomorrow.''

US-based Swede Carl Pettersson, a winner two weeks back at the Portuguese Open, shot a 68 to finish in a 12-man group in seventh.

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