SUTTON COLDFIELD, England -- Darren Clarke and Peter Hanson each shot a 6-under 66 at The Belfry on Thursday to take the lead after the first round of the British Masters.

U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell was a stroke behind after a 67, sharing third place with Paul Casey and Jarmo Sandelin. Casey had a bogey-free round on the 7,163-yard course, which has hosted four Ryder Cups.

Ian Poulter (68) was in a large group tied for sixth, two strokes behind the leaders.

Clarke, whose wife is battling cancer, almost withdrew after a poor showing in Wednesday's pro-am. But two hours on the practice range with his coach helped as he shot one eagle and six birdies.

"I hit a lot of good shots and took advantage, and a lot of poor shots that weren't disastrous," said Clarke, who has not played since pulling out after the first round at Houston last month to be with his wife.

"Sometimes thinking about other things benefits my golf. Not all the time, but sometimes," he added.

Starting at the 10th with a bogey, Clarke had four birdies on the next seven holes. He dropped another stroke at the 18th, the hole over water to a three-tiered green, when he missed the fairway.

But he sank a 20-foot putt for birdie at the second and a 15-footer for eagle at the next. He also birdied his last hole.

Hanson, who won last year's Spanish Open, birdied five straight holes from the second, and three in a row from the 15th. Two birdies came from 25-foot putts.

"After five holes, I thought, 'I don't want to wake up.' The putts were rolling in one after another," Hanson said.

Campbell has taken a month off since the Masters and regards this event as the start of his preparation to defend the U.S. Open title he won at Pinehurst last year.

"I didn't touch a club for four weeks but I've worked hard the last three days. But I didn't expect this so soon," Campbell said.

Still, he was disappointed with his finish.

"I was 4 under after six and 6 under after 12, but some of my shots coming in weren't pretty," Campbell added. "I have a cold and got a bit tired and my lack of match practice showed."

Sandelin, who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup, lost his playing card last year but regained it at qualifying school in November.

"That was a very severe wake-up call," the Swede said.

Casey, who with David Howell won a key fourballs victory in Europe's Ryder Cup win in 2004, went through a slump last year which he said resulted from a lack of confidence. But he won the China Open late last year and is world-ranked 57th.

"I want to get into the top 50 to get into next month's U.S. Open," said Casey, who missed it last year when his ranking fell. "I don't want to be sitting at home watching another major."

Kevin Stadler, whose father Craig played in the 1985 Ryder Cup match here, finished with a 2-under 70 in his first competitive round in Britain.

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