Golf:Sweden's Alexander Noren enjoyed a fast start in front of home crowds after he moved into a share of the lead on the opening day of the Nordea Masters in Stockholm.

The 29-year-old, who won in Wales earlier this year, picked up no less than five birdies in his opening six holes after setting off from the 10th. The difficult Bro Hof Slott venue came back to bite him a little but he rallied again before signing for a five-under- par 67.

Noren leads alongside compatriot Robert Karlsson, an amateur not the established tour player with the same name, and South Africa's Jaco Van Zyl.

“It was great, the first few holes were unbelievable. It felt so much easier than it has ever felt, then it got really tough on the front nine," said Noren, who made a double-bogey on the second and dropped another shot at the fourth. He made three birdies in the final five holes.

“I was really nervous going into today - in front of all your family and friends and they want to see if you can play or if you’re out there because your lucky. It was really fun. It’s a great start and in this weather it was pretty tough.”

The Karlsson who is leading is a 22-year-old amateur and aside from an untimely double-bogey at his penultimate hole, he enjoyed seven birdies in his round.

“That was a great start to the tournament, obviously,” said Karlsson. “Ever since I qualified on Monday, I’ve been trying to really enjoy this experience. It’s hard not to smile.”

Qualifying School graduate Van Zyl was second in Morocco earlier this year and six birdies with a solitary dropped shot put him into early contention. “It was good. Really tough conditions, very good golf course,” he said.

The other Karlsson, of Ryder Cup fame and established tour player, was in the group on three-under.

The big-hitting American pair of Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson were one-under and one-over respectively.

Ireland's Damien McGrane carded a respectable level par 72, but Michael Hoey crashed with a horror 11-over 83.