Colsaerts leads Volvo with course record 64

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GEORGE, South Africa (AP) -- Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium opened with a course record 9-under-par 64 to lead the first round of the Volvo Golf Champions at The Links at Fancourt on Thursday.

Colsaerts has a four-stroke lead over South Africa's Branden Grace and Thomas Aiken, and England's Tom Lewis.

The previous course record was 68 set by Tim Clark and Ross Fisher in the first round of the 2005 South African Open.

"I'm very happy. Having a course record on a course like this is obviously a pretty big thing," Colsaerts said. "You hear about this place, being ranked No. 1 in South Africa, it's quite special."

Known as one of the longest drivers on Tour, Colsaert's iron play and putting drew attention instead on Thursday.

He rolled in the longest putt of his round when he holed a 12-footer for birdie on the second.

"Then every birdie just seemed from pretty close range. I holed every chance I had," he said.

He birdied nine of 11 holes from the eighth.

"I kept hitting the irons very, very close to the flag. You know, once you hit three or four in a row you feel you can kind of hole from the fairway pretty much," he said.

His only bogey came at the par-4 sixth with a three-putt. But it was a round that clearly stood out for him.

"This is probably one of the best, if not the best. On a course like this, even if we don't play it at the very back, it's quite a serious test of golf. This is probably the best round I've ever had."

Padraig Harrington showed glimpses of a return to form with his 4-under 69, despite a double-bogey 7 at the last.