Irishman Paul McGinley, who resigned as Europe's Ryder Cup vice captain last year, boosted his qualification hopes by taking the first-round lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday. McGinley stood down as captain Nick Faldo's right-hand man in September to play his way into the team and showed belated signs of doing so by firing a seven-under-par 65 at the European Tour's flagship event at Wentworth. His 2006 Ryder Cup teammate Swede Robert Karlsson was the Irishman's nearest challenger after a six-under-par 66. McGinley, who holed the 2002 Ryder Cup-winning putt in the first of three consecutive victories he has played in, lies 32nd on the European points list to qualify for the Sept. 19-21 match against the US. “I have struggled most of the year with poor first rounds and I'm thrilled to get away to a good start in the tournament as it's a long time since I have done that,” McGinley told reporters after his round. McGinley's 65 beat the previous best of 66 set last year by Briton Paul Broadhurst since South Africa's Ernie Els lengthened the course by 300 yards in 2005. The old course record of 63 was last equalled by Australian Jarrod Moseley in 2002. McGinley notched his first birdie of a bogey-free round at the par-five fourth and followed that up with a three at the par-four ninth. Two more birdies came on the two par-three's at 10 and 14 either side of a four at the par-five 12th. The 41-year-old finished with birdies at the closing pair of par five holes. Asked how the course was playing, McGinley said: “It's very tricky. It's hard and fast and I feel it's a real test of golf.” The tall Karlsson, fourth on the Ryder Cup European points list, birdied the last for his sixth birdie in a bogey-free round as he looks to end a near two-year trophy drought. South African Louis Oosthuizen and Australian Marcus Frazer are a further shot back after carding five-under-par 67s. Frazer entered the final round last year in a share of third but a 78 ended his chances of victory on the Sunday. There were plenty of high-profile strugglers on day one with twice US Open winner Retief Goosen of South Africa firing a four-over-par 76 matched by Order of Merit holder Briton Justin Rose. World number three Els fared one shot better at three-over alongside title holder Anders Hansen. US Open champion Angel Cabrera recovered after a dismal start in which he bogeyed the first five holes to card a 73, a score matched by three times PGA Championship winner Colin Montgomerie.
