Bourdy sets course record

Mallorca - France's Gregory Bourdy set a new course record of seven-under 63 to lead the Iberdrola Open by one shot on Thursday as the Pula Golf Club remembered Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros.

Bourdy, who won his first career title here at the 2007 Mallorca Classic, leads by a shot from England's Danny Willett with Englishman Matthew Nixon and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke together in third place, two shots off the lead.

"I feel very good and I like this course - I won three years ago so everything is great here," said Bourdy, who has three European Tour titles to his name.

"It's always great to hold a course record. It's very nice on Tour to get a score like this. I made nine birdies, only two or three mistakes but it was a wonderful day."

Bourdy, 29, went out in a five-under par 31 after starting at the tenth, and then birdied the first to complete a run of four successive gains.

He then holed a six footer at the third and from 30 feet at the par-three eighth, with his two bogeys coming at the seventh and 15th.

Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal, who designed the course, returned a one-over 71.

The Spaniard and his predecessor Colin Montgomerie missed their practice round to attend Seve Ballesteros' funeral on Wednesday. The Scot dropped five shots in his last three holes for a 77.

Players and officials attended a memorial service at the course on Wednesday while all 18 flags on the course were decked with black ribbons as a mark of respect for Ballesteros who died at the weekend.

Leading first round scores at the Iberdrola Open (GBR/IRL unless stated, par 70):

63 - Gregory Bourdy (FRA)

64 - Danny Willett

65 - Matthew Nixon, Darren Clarke

66 - Rhys Davies

67 - Chris Wood, Jaco Van Zyl (RSA), Scott Jamieson, Cesar Monasterio (ARG)

68 - Martin Wiegele (AUT), Damien McGrane, Mikko Ilonen (FIN), David Lynn, Simon Wakefield, David Drysdale, Marco Ruiz (PAR), Paul Lawrie, Alastair Forsyth, Elliot Saltman, Barry Lane

69 - Fredrik Ohlsson (SWE), Hennie Otto (RSA), Phillip Price, Javi Colomo (ESP), Kenneth Ferrie, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Ross McGowan, Pablo Larrazabal (ESP)

70 - Christian Cevaer (FRA), Roope Kakko (FIN), Thomas Aiken (RSA), Marcel Siem (GER), Juan Antonio Bragulat (ESP), Mikko Korhonen (FIN), Steven O'Hara, Paul Broadhurst, Jason Knutzon (USA), Eirik Tage Johansen (NOR), Ariel Canete (ARG), Miles Tunnicliff, Paul McGinley

Selected

71 - Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP)

73 - Wade Ormsby (AUS), Mark Brown (NZL)

74 - Daniel Gaunt (AUS), Matthew Zions (AUS)

75 - George Coetzee (RSA)

77 - Colin Montgomerie, Rick Kulacz (AUS), Shaun Norris (RSA)

78 - Scott Hend (AUS)