Wood fires 65 for early lead at new-look Wales Open

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NEWPORT, Wales (AP) -- England's Chris Wood took advantage of calm conditions Thursday to shoot a 6-under 65 and take the early first-round lead at the Wales Open.

The 22-year-old Wood carded six birdies to equal the lowest score on the Celtic Manor course, which will host the Ryder Cup at the start of October.

Fellow Englishman Simon Dyson shot a 65 last year but the layout of the course has been considerably toughened at the request of Europe captain Colin Montgomerie.

Even more impressive was the ability of Wood to bounce back from the disappointment of his last tournament two weeks ago. On that occasion, he led the PGA Championship at Wentworth by two shots going into the final round, only to shoot a closing 67 and slip back into a share of sixth.

"I think I learnt a lot from that experience," said Wood, who had to set a 4 a.m. alarm call to meet his early-morning tee time. "Holding the lead going into the last day in pretty much the biggest event on the European Tour, and against one of the best fields, was new.

"Having to deal with that pressure was something I had never had before. So going through that experience, even though it didn't work out very well, is certainly going to help me in the future."

Although Wood played a brilliant 9-iron bunker recovery shot to set up his birdie at the par-4 8th hole, the rest of his birdies were completed with close-range putts.

Bradley Dredge, a member at Celtic Manor, added to the local flavor at the top of the morning leaderboard by shooting a 5-under 66, a score matched by Australia's Andrew Dodt.

Spain's Alvaro Quiros, who occupies one of the automatic qualifying spots for Europe's Ryder Cup team, impressed Montgomerie by producing a hole-in-one with a 200-yard 6-iron at the third hole on his way to a 71.

"I hit a 4-iron there," said Montgomerie. "But Alvaro was debating whether to hit a 6 or 7-iron -- his extra length could be very useful around here."