Fisher nets course record in Kent

Ross Fisher has broken the course record at Kent's London Club with a first round nine-under-par 63 in the European Open.

The 27-year-old Englishman, coming into the event on the back of his joint third-placed finish in the Open Championship qualifier at Sunningdale, hit six successive birdies to finish his round in style and beat Seve Ballesteros' record which had stood for 24 years since 1984.

The score is also the lowest round of Fisher's European Tour career and kept him four strokes ahead of Sweden's Peter Helblom as the early starters were finishing their rounds on Thursday afternoon.

There was no good news for England's Oliver Wilson, who pulled out of the tournament late on due to tendinitis in his left shoulder.

Wilson, who was on course for a Ryder Cup spot as he sat in eighth place in the rankings going into the European Open, struggled with the problem at last week's French Open and has not recovered sufficiently. As a result Swede Joakim Backstrom has taken his place alongside Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell.