Cabrera one off lead in Spain; Garcia two back

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Soren Kjeldsen carded eight birdies en route to a 7-under par 64 in the first round of the Castello Masters.

CASTELLON, Spain (AP) -- Soren Kjeldsen shot a 7-under par 64 Thursday to hold a one shot lead after the first round of the Castello Masters.

Kjeldsen, who sits 34th in the Order of Merit, carded eight birdies in his round with the only blip a bogey-5 at No. 17.

"It was a very solid round. I'm playing well, as I did last week at the Portugal Masters," said the 33-year-old Dane, who is looking for his first European Tour victory in five years. "There's still a long way to go this week but this is a good start."

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Camilo Villegas shot a 1-under 71 in Spain on Thursday.

Former U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, England's Richard Finch, Ignacio Garrido of Spain and Peter Hanson of Sweden all trailed Kjeldsen after 6-under rounds of 65.

Sergio Garcia closed with three birdies to finish 5-under on his home course. Garcia's father Victor is the pro at the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo.

"I'm taking advantage of the opportunities when they come, it's a very nice feeling playing at home. There has been a lot of build up to it and it's finally here and I was a little nervous this morning," said the Spaniard, who is looking for his first European win in three years. "Scoring wise it was a good round but I know I need to play a little better."

Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal was tied with Garcia and five other players to trail Kjeldsen by two strokes. Olazabal is playing in his second tournament since his latest comeback.

England's Paul Casey (69) and Camilo Villegas (70) of Colombia were also in the running for the $448,628 first-place prize money. The tournament was played while five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros was preparing to undergo a third operation Friday to remove the remaining parts of a cancerous tumor from his brain.

Madrid's La Paz hospital said the 51-year-old Ballesteros was in stable, but serious, condition on Thursday.