ASH, England -- Ross Fisher had 10 birdies in a course-record 9-under 63 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Graeme McDowell and David Frost after the first round of the $4.8 million European Open.

Playing without a practice round, Fisher relied mainly on the advice of caddie Adam Marrow, who had walked the course twice.

"He told me where to hit it, where the run-offs were and what clubs to hit. He was pretty much spot-on," Fisher said.

The 27-year-old Englishman started at the 10th hole on the 7,257-yard London Golf Club course and birdied four of the first nine, with his only bogey at the eighth. He went on to birdie his last six holes, capping his run with a wind-assisted drive of more than 400 yards at the par-4 ninth, finishing about 35 yards short of the flag.

Teenager Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland was 5 under, and a group of seven was another stroke back.

Justin Rose opened with 69, defending champion Colin Montgomerie shot a 70 and Sergio Garcia had a 71.

Fisher broke the course record of 64 set by Seve Ballesteros when the club was opened in 1994.

Fisher described his round as "a bit surreal" after deciding against a practice round Tuesday and settling for light practice Wednesday because he was exhausted after his successful 36-hole qualifying bid Monday for the British Open.

"It's probably the best, most solid round of golf I've played and on the front nine [he began on the 10th] the hole was as big as a bucket," added Fisher.

Winner of his first European Tour title in Holland last August, Fisher came through the 36-hole British Open qualifier at Sunningdale on Monday and discussed with his manager how much he had left in the tank for this week.

Asked if he considered pulling out, Fisher replied: "I sort of had a thought about it. I was feeling pretty tired, but how do you pull out of an event when you live only 40 minutes away?

"It's pretty difficult to sit at home and watch it on TV, knowing that you are playing well," he added. "So I thought, 'Let's see how we go'. Have a few days off and if I feel fine I'll play."

He took his wife Joanne to Wimbledon for her birthday on Tuesday, left his caddie to walk the course and then attacked it "blind" first thing Thursday morning.

While six players were tested on the first day of golf's new anti-doping era, Fisher kicked off with two birdies, did not have to wait long for two more and, after bogeying the short 17th, covered the outward half in 30.

That included sinking a bunker shot on the 187-yard seventh and hitting a massive drive on the dogleg 448-yard ninth that, to his disbelief, came up a mere 20 yards short of the green.

Montgomerie called Fisher "Nadal-like," referring to tennis star Rafael Nadal, for shots such as that.

Power is one thing, but scoring is what the game is all about and for that Fisher, like Lee Westwood, is singing the praises of Mark Roe.

It was a chip into water that led to that crushing 8 in Shanghai last November, but he said the work he has doing since with the former Tour player is "coming on nicely.

"In my mind, him and Brett Rumford are two of the greatest short-game people I've been privileged to witness," he said.

Montgomerie was disappointed he could not build on being 3 under after eight -- two shots into bunkers cost him bogeys after that -- but he still had a better day than Open champion Harrington.

Recovering from a stiff neck, the Dubliner returned a level-par 72 and will need a massive improvement if his last Tour outing before his title defense at Royal Birkdale is to bring him his first victory since Carnoustie.

"I'm happy with my short game and I was as solid as I've been all year on the greens, but I struggled to get distance control," he said. "You've just got to stay patient and wait for it to turn round. My neck is still a little bit jammed, but I wouldn't have played this week if I was truly injured."

McDowell fell out of the top 10 on the Ryder Cup standings last Sunday, but the first prize of about $800,000 could take him to sixth.

"I've not looked at the table for weeks -- I know I've got to perform and all I can do is focus on day by day," said the Northern Ireland golfer, who blamed a bogey at the 14th on feeling rushed because his group were being timed for slow play.

"I'm feeling mentally and physically fit and I'm not spending much time on the range," he added. "You pinpoint what you need to work on, get rest and stay off the Guinness on the weeks off. The race is only just beginning now we're into the meat and bones of the season."

Frost was in the penultimate group of the day and had a hat trick of birdies from the 14th to join McDowell, while McIlroy eagled the 15th as he claimed fourth spot with his 67.

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