Cabrera leads way with opening 63

Argentina's Angel Cabrera birdied the last four holes for an eight-under-par 63 and a four-shot lead after the first round of the European Tour's season-ending Volvo Masters on Thursday.

The big-hitting Argentine, winner of the Benson and Hedges International in May, was one of only two players to produce a blemish-free card on a day of bright sunshine at the par-71 Valderrama course.

He picked up shots at the second, fifth, 10th, 11th, 15th, 16th, 17th and the last to finish four strokes ahead of Welshman Phillip Price, who returned a 67.

"That was a fantastic round for me today -- it was one of those rounds you dream of having when you play in a tournament," said the Cordoba-born professional.

"I drove the ball well and made some very good putts. Everything just clicked for me out there today.

"I ended up in the rough only a few times but the ball was always close to the fairway so I never had any real problems," added Cabrera, who finished a stroke short of the course record of 62 set by Bernhard Langer in 1994.

Englishmen Simon Dyson and Brian Davis were among a group of five tied for third on 68 as several of the bigger names in the elite 66-man field struggled on day one.

FALTERING START

Defending champion Padraig Harrington got off to a faltering start in his bid to wrest the European order of merit title from Retief Goosen, incurring a two-stroke penalty at the opening hole before finishing with a three-over-par 74.

The 31-year-old Irishman, trailing Goosen by 23,119 euros ($23,130) in the standings, ran up a double-bogey six at Valderrama's 389-yard first after incorrectly repairing a pitch mark just off the green.

Harrington, who had already received a free drop on that hole after hooking his tee shot via trees into a drainage ditch, immediately realised his mistake and summoned a European Tour rules official.

But he was given a two-shot penalty because the repaired pitch mark had not been on the putting surface. He then chipped on to the green and made the putt to begin his opening round with a six.

"These things happen and obviously it was not the start you wanted," he said after his round.

"I just walked up and fixed the pitch mark, which looked like it was on the green because of the shade. But as I was digging, there seemed to be a little bit more grass than you expect.

"So the bell went off in the head and I said: 'Oops, this isn't good'. It's a perfectly fair rule but obviously it was a two-shot penalty."

ROLLER-COASTER ROUND

Harrington dropped another shot at the par-five fourth, where he three-putted, but recovered with birdies at the fifth, 11th and 13th. He completed a roller-coaster round with a double-bogey seven at the 17th and a birdie-three at the last.

Goosen, the reigning European number one, began promisingly with a birdie at the par-four first after hitting his approach to nine feet.

But, like Harrington, the South African then produced some erratic golf before ending a day of struggle with a two-over-par 73.

Dropped shots on two, seven and 13, a double-bogey seven at the 11th -- slightly offset by birdies on eight and 15 -- left the 2001 U.S. Open champion 10 shots off the lead.

World number six Sergio Garcia, another late starter, raced to three-under-par after picking up shots at the first, second and fourth.

But the 22-year-old Spaniard, the pre-tournament favourite, bogeyed seven and nine before getting back to three under with birdies at the 11th and 14th.

Following another bogey on 15, Garcia finished with a two-under-par 69, before saying: "I'm happy with the way I played -- every score under par on this golf course is a good score."

Among the other leading names in the field, seven-times European number one Colin Montgomerie returned a 70, twice U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal shot a 73 and 1994 winner Bernhard Langer carded a 71.

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