Peter Lonard of Australia smashed the course record with a round of 62 to earn a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open.

The 10-under-par effort, which included two eagles and six birdies, left Lonard clear of Scottish rookie Alastair Forsyth, England's Phil Golding and Paolo Quirici of Switzerland, who all carded 65s.

And Ireland's Padraig Harrington was also well in the hunt after an opening five under par 67 but it was a bad day for English youngster Justin Rose, who was 19 shots off the pace in equal last after carding a disastrous nine-over 81.

Lonard, the first-round leader in the Qatar Masters two weeks ago, made another fast start on the European Tour's ground-breaking visit to South America for the first of two successive weeks in Brazil.

The powerful Australian trimmed four strokes off the previous official record set in the 1980s when the Brazilian Open was won at the Itanhanga course by Vicente Fernandez.

Lonard revealed that his score was three strokes lower than his previous best on the European Tour.

He said: "I think I've set two course records at home in Australia in the past but this is the first time I've gone as low as 62. I suppose it is a bit of a surprise to shoot so low. I don't do that every day of the week, but it's good to go out and do that."

Forsyth threatened to emulate Lonard when he birdied the 17th hole to move to nine under, but the club slipped from his hands on the 18th tee due to the intense humidity and he ran up a double bogey.

The Scottish youngster, who won the qualifying school last year and has already earned enough to retain his card for 2001, admitted: "The club slipped and I hit a horrible shot and needed a penalty drop. It was a shame but I still managed to shoot my lowest round on the tour.

"I suppose a lot of what's happened in three months has taken me by surprise, but I think I've handled it well."

"I always felt if I got off to a decent start then everything would fall into place. My goal was to keep my card and I've achieved that. Everything else is a bonus."

Golding, whose seven-under score was helped by three twos on the back nine, attributed his good form to a profitable new relationship with coach Nick Bradly from Kent.