PARIS -- Spanish qualifier Pablo Larrazabal left his driver in the clubhouse and shot a 6-under 65 Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Alstom French Open on the European Tour.

"That's my first tournament I play without a driver," Larrazabal said. "The fairways are really hard, so you don't need the driver. Maybe if the wind starts to blow really hard, then you need the driver."

One shot back were English teenager Oliver Fisher, who birdied three of his final seven holes in a bogey-free 66, and Ireland's Peter Lawrie, who recovered from an opening double bogey with 10 birdies -- but finished with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18.

Angel Cabrera of Argentina was alone in fourth after a 67.

Without a driver, Larrazabal relied on a 3-wood off the tee.

"I have been hitting my 3-wood so well," Larrazabal said. "The only fairway I missed out there was on the ninth."

Starting on the back nine, Larrazabal was bogey free with seven birdies until he reached the ninth. He concluded his day with a bogey to slip to 6 under.

"I thought I had hit a perfect 3-wood but it was a foot into the big stuff, and I had to chip it out and then hit a 6-iron for my third shot," Larrazabal said. "My fourth shot was the worst of the day and I had to chip and putt for bogey."

Larrazabal had to play two qualifying rounds two weeks ago at the Chantilly Golf Club to make the field.

Lawrie recovered from a double bogey on the first hole with five birdies in the next six holes. He added four consecutive birdies starting at 12 to take the lead at 7 under. But his closing bogeys dropped him back.

Fisher finished at 5 under a month ago at the BMW PGA Championship to finish tied for 16th. It was the 19-year-old's best showing in six events this season.

"I think I'm probably more patient this year than I was last year," he said. "You just try to do the best you can, go through the right processes and right routines beforehand and hit the best shots you can."

Fisher shared the lead after 15 holes with Angel Cabrera of Argentina at 4 under.

He birdied 17, and Cabrera matched with a birdie at No. 8 to stay tied. Cabrera bogeyed 9, and when Fisher saved par on the 18th, he went into the clubhouse with the lead.

A group of 12 players, including defending champion Graeme Storm of England, were three strokes off the pace at the $6.3 million tournament.

Lawrie gave himself the chance of the first Spanish and French Open double in 24 years with an amazing opening round at Le Golf National. Trying to emulate the feat of Bernhard Langer in 1984, the 34-year-old Dubliner began with a double-bogey 6, but then packed 10 birdies into the next 14 holes.

Two more in the last three and he would have matched the European Tour record of Darren Clarke, Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Russell Claydon. Instead, however, he bogeyed two of them for his 5-under 66l.

"When I put my second shot in the water I thought 'you stupid you-know-what'," said Lawrie. "But I hit a lot of good putts and it was one of those rollercoaster rides. That's not me usually. I'm normally calm and collected -- par, par, par and the occasional birdie. Ten in a round is possibly a record for me."

Larrazabal is making his debut in the event, but only as a player. He caddied for his older brother Alejandro, the 2002 British Amateur champion, in 2003, as he did that year at the Masters at Augusta.

His own switch to the professional ranks was delayed on the instructions of his father Gustavo, who instead made him work on the family fish farm.

"I was up at 5:30 and had to clean trays and make sure the temperature was right -- I was the rookie there," he said. "He wanted me to know how normal people work for a living. Alejandro didn't have to do it because he was famous -- he had it easier!"

Fisher, who lost a playoff to Thomas Levet in the Andalucia Open in March, is also chasing his first Tour title. The Essex youngster, who three years ago became the youngest-ever player in the Walker Cup, was leading by one with one to play in Spain, but hit his tee shot into water.

"I'm pleased with how I handled that," he said. "I think it was a great confidence boost for me -- to be paired with Lee Westwood in the last two rounds and to out-play him by a couple of shots was good in itself."

Westwood was back in action Thursday for the first time since his third-place finish in the U.S. Open, and he was happy enough with his 69, the same as Colin Montgomerie. Westwood used his driver just twice.

"It's a bit severe in places and takes driver out of your hands a bit, which if you are a decent driver you're not going to like," he said. "But you can't have it the way you want every week."

Montgomerie was nearly only two off the lead, but after his pitch for eagle on his final hole -- actually the 545-yard ninth -- ran over the edge of the hole both on landing and as it spun back he then missed a three-footer.

Ian Poulter, partnering Westwood, returned a 1-over 72, but was pleased he had no real problems with his right wrist. Two weeks ago he pulled out of the U.S. Open during his second round.

"It felt good," he said of his wrist. "I had a couple of shots that tested it, but there was one where I could have gone for the green and decided it was not the clever thing to do."

Clarke, who needs to finish third to have a chance of avoiding the 36-hole British Open qualifier, is on the same mark, while Ryder Cup teammate Paul McGinley, who has the same target, was 2 under until finishing with a double-bogey 6.

McGinley's approach flew over the back of the green off a sprinkler head, bounced on one bridge and then rolled on to another.

Playing partner Oliver Wilson took a quadruple bogey on the hole to slump from 1 over to 5 over -- he came home in 44 after going out in a 4-under 32 - but there were worse scores than that.

Frenchman Cedric Judlin had a 12 on the long third, compatriot Thomas Levet took nine there (four of them slashes from the same spot in the rough) and Spaniard Pablo Martin had a 9 on the short 16th as he crashed to an 85.

Martin, who last year became the first amateur to win on the circuit, was in rough on the edge of the lake in one, had an air shot, put his next in the water, then went back in from the drop zone.

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