Unheralded Welshman Stuart Manley produced a superb 65 to claim a one-shot lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters.
Order of Merit leader Karlsson makes solid start with a 69
Unheralded Welshman Stuart Manley produced a superb 65 to claim a one-shot lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters.
Manley was in the penultimate group of the day at the Oceanico Victoria course on Thursday and finished with back-to-back birdies to pull clear of the field.
Standing at seven-under, he holds a one-stroke lead over a trio of players; Englishman Mark Foster, Alvaro Quiros of Spain and Jyoti Randhawa of India.
A group of seven that includes Graeme McDowell and Ross Fisher are a further shot back at five-under, while Swede Robert Karlsson took another step towards the Order of Merit title with an opening 69.
Karlsson - who leads the money-list by £112,000 from Padraig Harrington - played with Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez who are third and fourth on the list.
However, it proved a fairly forgettable day for the Englishman and Spaniard who could do not better than 72 and 73 respectively.
Amateurish
Westwood's round was undermined by a double-bogey seven at the 17th and he was particularly scathing about his shot selection at the par-five that he classed as "amateurish".
"It was not a good lie and I should have laid up," he commented. "I played like a tired man that wants the year to end."
Karlsson also admitted to fatigue after a long season but was understandably more content with his efforts.
"You definitely know you have flown all over the world for 10 months, but that was not too bad," he stated.
Karlsson mixed seven birdies and four bogeys during an eventful round as he began his quest for a third straight European Tour victory.
Storming
However, he finds himself four shots behind the pace of Manley whose storming back-nine saw him end the day as the unlikely leader.
Starting at the tenth tee, the Welshman birdied 12, 14 and 17 before a bogey at 18 saw him hit the turn in 34 shots.
But consecutive birdies at two and three restored his momentum and after another at six he finished with two more at eight and nine to open an advantage.
Wilson withdraws
It was not such a productive day for Ryder Cupper Oliver Wilson whose bid to finish the year inside the world's top 50 - thus securing a place at The Masters - suffered a major blow as he was forced to withdraw after just eight holes with a neck injury.
"I woke up with it," said the Mansfield golfer, who had won the eve-of-tournament pro-am. "I went to get out of bed and felt it go.
"I had some physio, took some pills, but when I went to the range to warm up I could only swing it about threequarters at best.
"Normally it loosens up reasonably quickly, but I couldn't reach a couple of holes and it was pointless really."
