McDowell breaks course record in first round

Graeme McDowell leads the Volvo Scandinavian Masters by a shot after the first round.

The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland set a new course record of 64, seven under par.

McDowell is competing in only his fourth European Tour event and had to rally after a poor start to his round.

He said: "I did not feel that good for the first five or six holes but scrambled and hung in there and things got better from then on.

"I'm very happy to be here and to break the course record is a dream start.

"The top priority now is to get a card for next year and a good result here would not be a big surprise because I have been playing well since turning professional before the Great North Open at Slaley Hall, but I was not scoring well."

Adam Scott is a shot further back, equalling the previous record with five birdies and an eagle, reaping the rewards of a meeting with coach Butch Harmon at the Open after missing the cut in five of his last six tournaments.

"I'm very happy with that start, it's nice to put a low number on the board, it's been a while," said Scott.

"Some bad habits in my technique were killing me and I was not able to sort them out before the tournament came round. I was trying to come up with a quick fix and it was not working so well."

English trio Warren Bennett, Matthew Cort and Grant Hamerton were five under in joint third, one ahead of Michael Campbell.

Colin Montgomerie was two over after four holes and also dropped two shots coming home, but picked up five birdies and was reasonably satisfied with his day's work, saying: "I missed a couple of greens on the wrong side but it's okay."