dunhill links championship 2006

Paul Casey was in Ryder Cup ace-making mood as he fired a spectacular eagle-two in Thursday's Dunhill Links Championship first round to keep his European money-list rivals at bay.

Casey's ball found the cup at the Kingsbarns course sixth, his 15th, on his way to a nine-under-par 63 that earned him a one-stroke lead in the three-course event.

Casey, just 120,000 euros in front of fellow-Englishman David Howell, leads from Sweden's Johan Edfors, who himself still has a slim chance of winning the money-list, and Welshman Bradley Dredge.

Edfors also played Kingsbarns, while Dredge shot a 64 at St Andrews. Casey's closest money-rival Howell trails him by 12 shots after a costly 75 at Kingsbarns.

After an inauspicious WGC American Express tournament last week, when he lost ground to Howell by finishing tied 56th of the 62-man field, Casey bounced back with a vengeance, achieving something similar to his hole-in-one during the Ryder Cup.

At the par-four sixth, he coaxed his ball over a hill with a wedge from 80 yards out and watched it roll down into the cup. A birdie on his last hole edged him ahead of the field.

Having admitted last week at the Grove "the tank's empty", Casey is now back in the mood that won him his first World Matchplay Championship three weeks ago.

"I still feel tired and I went into this week not expecting much," Casey told reporters after adding seven birdies to his eagle and collecting four twos in all. "That's probably why I've played well."

The battle between him and Howell and anyone else still in touch with the 2006 order of merit, is being banished from his thoughts, though, Casey said.

"I spoke to Howler (Howell) in the locker-room and we're just going to play our golf and not think about the order of merit.

"I'd dearly love to win it, but if I don't then this will have been a wonderful year anyway."

Edfors also collected an eagle and seven birdies, but with one dropped shot as he tries for his fourth win of the season -- a far cry from his fortunes before this season.

"It's been an unbelievable season, coming from qualifying school and at the beginning of the year if someone had said I'd win three times, I would have told them they were crazy," Edfors told reporters.

Former world number one Vijay Singh and another Englishman, Gary Evans, are two shots off the lead.

Another of Casey's order of merit rivals Ian Poulter may withdraw after shooting a 75 nursing an injured ankle.

Poulter said: "I'll see when I get back and get some physio then I'll decide about tomorrow."