Slattery shoots 67, leads SAS Masters after first round

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LODDEKOPINGE, Sweden (AP) -- Lee Slattery birdied the first four holes en route to a 6-under 67 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the SAS Masters.

The 30-year-old Englishman made the turn at 5 under at Barseback Golf Club, then had to wait for an hour before continuing because of a thunderstorm warning. Slattery finished with seven birdies, playing in the first group early in the morning.

His only mishap came on the 12th, the shortest par-5 hole on the course, where he made a bogey after hitting a tree.

Slattery, ranked 504th in the world, held a one-shot lead of Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina. Gonzalez had seven birdies and two bogeys.

Klas Eriksson of Sweden, Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Pablo Martin Benavides and Tano Goya of Argentina shared third at 69.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden, ranked seventh in the world and a member of Barseback, opened with a an even-par 73.

Jesper Parnevik, who has been struggling on the PGA TOUR this season, shot 74. Parnevik won in 1995 at Barseback to become the first Swede to win a European Tour event in Sweden.

Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand only managed a 78.

The course at Barseback, site of the 2003 Solheim Cup matches between Europe and the United States, is the longest in European Tour history at 7,665 yards.