VIRGINIA WATER, England -- European Tour rookie David Horsey, Anthony Wall and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano shot 5-under 67s to share the first-round lead in the BMW PGA Championship.

Some of the top players faltered Thursday, with Masters champion Angel Cabrera and newly-elected Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal each shooting 2-over 74 and John Daly at 1-over 73. Players Championsip winner Henrik Stenson shot 78.

Horsey and Wall each birdied four holes on the back nine; Fernandez-Castano finished birdie-eagle.

Charl Schwartzel, Niclas Fasth, Ross Fisher, Barry Lane and defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez were at 68. Paul Casey, Robert Karlsson, Colin Montgomerie and 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis were among a group of players at 69.

There was no doubt who Horsey thought of first after taking his share of the lead. As Phil Mickelson began indefinite leave from golf because of his wife Amy's breast cancer, Horsey spoke of his mother's battle with the disease.

"She's at home watching the live scoring and watching on the TV and hopefully it has kept her going," said the 24-year-old. "She never really talks about it that way but hopefully I've helped in that respect.

"She was diagnosed at the end of last year and and just had her last chemo(therapy) yesterday. She's got three weeks of radiotherapy coming up shortly and hopefully that will be it, but she won't get the all-clear obviously until three or four years down the line.

"It's been tough -- it's always at the back of my mind. My mum's always been very strong through it and my dad has obviously been there for her," he explained. "I do try hard not to think about it when I'm playing and what she would want for me is to keep on playing."

Horsey, a teammate of Rory McIlroy at the 2007 Walker Cup and winner of last season's second-tier European Challenge Tour, was the first of the 150-strong field to tee off at 7:00 a.m. He was one over after five holes of his debut but birdied the next two, added another on the 12th and finished with three more.

Londoner Wall, only two groups behind him, also came home in a 4-under 33, while British Masters champion Fernandez-Castano went birdie-eagle on the last two.

The biggest surprise of the day was the 78 of Stenson, who on his last appearance two weeks ago played arguably the best final round of the year to capture the Players Championship in Florida.

The Swede, however, was not as shocked as others might be -- he has never finished higher than eighth in eight appearances at the event and he spent last week on holiday in the Bahamas. Stenson, at fourth in the world the highest-ranked player in the field, gave a tennis analogy.

"Some like hard courts, some like clay. This is not my surface," he said. "I find it difficult to pick the shots and to judge how the ball will react."

Ryder Cup teammates Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have stayed away again this year but, asked if he had considered joining them, Stenson said now.

"BMW has been a great supporter of the Tour and me personally, so I think it's important to be here," he said.

For a while he was the worst score in the clubhouse, but 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell took an 8 on the long 17th and came in with a 79. Then 2007 French Open champion Graeme Storm finished 6-7 for 80 and Ireland's Gary Murphy had a 9 on the 383-yard 16th in his 82.

Lee Westwood looked as if he might be topping that when he had four successive bogeys from the 12th to crash to 7 over.

"At least I beat Henrik by one," he quipped after birdies at the last two for 77. "I just didn't play very well -- that can happen here."

He was second to Montgomerie in 2000, but missed five of the next six cuts and has not had a top 10 since.

As for Montgomerie, he hit back from his closing 80 at the Irish Open with a 3-under 69, the same as world No. 7 Paul Casey and last season's European No. 1 Robert Karlsson.

"One 69 is okay but what I have to do is put another one on the board, then another one," said the Ryder Cup captain. "If I can do that, I'll be thrilled.

"I have to set my goals the way they were -- to win. I feel capable of it still and it's just a matter of going out and proving it to myself," he added. "I haven't been doing that."

Before Ireland, he missed two cuts in a row and bowed out of the Spanish Open with an 81.

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