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VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Paul McGinley boosted his chances of a fourth successive Ryder Cup appearance with a 7-under 65 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.
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The 41-year-old Dubliner played a near-flawless round with birdies at all four of the par-5s for a one-stroke lead over Robert Karlsson.
Marcus Fraser shot 67 to sit in third at the 7,320-yard West Course, which was hard and bouncy after a recent dry spell.
Charl Schwartzel, Daniek Vancsik and Garry Houston carded 68.
McGinley said his 65 was his best round since a 67 on the first day of last year's British Open.
"I struggled most of this year with poor or medium first rounds," he said. "But it's a long way from leading now to winning on Sunday night. The Ryder Cup is not on the horizon. It's in the future. I have got to have a heck of a summer to make it."
McGinley, currently 32nd on the European points list from which the top five qualify, has played on the last three European teams and initially accepted an offer from Nick Faldo to be a vice-captain on this year's team. He then reneged, saying he'd like to qualify as a player instead.
"I'm not ready to be a back room staffer," he said. "I don't feel I'm ready for that role yet. In the future I hope I'll get to do those things."
Many players had trouble in the dry conditions -- a departure from the soggy course of recent years. Karlsson, however, liked it just fine.
"I putted really well, very well and I kept the ball in play," Karlsson said. "Whenever I had a bit of a problem I tried to play sensibly."
The Swede made three 25-foot putts for birdie, including on the last hole where his chipped third shot ended up in the fringe.
Ernie Els is looking for his first win at this event after seven World Match Play titles on the same course, but struggled for a 75.
Four players, David Howell, Graeme McDowell, Nick Dougherty and Miguel-Angel Jimenez, were tied on 70.
Paul Casey shot 71 after a double-bogey 7 on the long 17th, which Els also bogeyed. And both could only par the par-5 18th.
Darren Clarke also had a 75 while Lee Westwood shot 77.
Defending champion Anders Hansen had 75 while the man he beat in a playoff last year, Justin Rose, shot 76.
Three-time champion Colin Montgomerie double bogeyed the short second hole and bogeyed the third, before battling back for a 73.
U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera opened with five successive bogeys then also fought back for a 73.
