Sweden's Louise Stahle soared into the lead with a brilliant course-record 64, and it was also a good opening day for England's Laura Davies and Lisa Hall at the Dubai Ladies' Masters at the Emirates Golf Club.

Davies packed six birdies and an eagle into an opening 67 and shared second place with Hall, who had a bogey-free five-under round.

But Stahle was a class apart. She opened with four straight birdies and had nine altogether to be a shot inside the record set by Annika Sorenstam in the first round last year. Today, Sweden's defending champion had to make do with a 70.

Davies also had a number of highlights, notably the eagle at the 451-yard third where she hit an eight-iron second shot to 12 feet.

"This is my first time here, and I'm having a great time," said the 44-year-old veteran.

"I loved the course in practice and even more so today. It's set up really nicely for me and I played a really solid round of golf.

"I did have three stupid bogeys, and they were all the result of poor chips. The grass is quite tough round the greens. But apart from that, the rest of my game was in very good shape."

Davies is seeking a second victory this season.

Scot Catriona Matthew - one of 10 players still in with a shout of earning the £15,000 bonus for topping the New Star money list on Sunday - was well-placed on 70.

But the player currently in sixth place in the list of earnings would have been even closer to the lead if she had not hit her second shot into water and taken a double-bogey six at the last.

On her professional debut, the English Curtis Cup star Melissa Reid shot 74.

The top amateur at this year's Women's British Open, the Derbyshire golfer surprisingly failed to get a full card at the Ladies' European Tour qualifying school in Italy in October - and is playing this week on a sponsor's invitation.

ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES

64 Louise Stahle (Swe)

67 Laura Davies (Eng), Lisa Hall (Eng)

68 Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den), Sophie Gustafson (Swe)

69 Ashleigh Simon (Rsa), Federica Piovano (Ita), Lotta Wahlin (Swe)

70 Claire Coughlan (Irl), Annika Sorenstam (Swe), Linda Wessberg (Swe), Catriona Matthew (Sco), Trish Johnson (Eng), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Martina Eberl (Ger)

71 Johanna Head (Eng), Ha-Neul Kim (Kor), Fame More (Eng), Anja Monke (Ger), Amy Yang (Kor), Ludivine Kreutz (Fra)

72 Marina Arruti (Spa), Kirsty S Taylor (Eng), Danielle Masters (Eng), Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Felicity Johnson (Eng), Louise Friberg (Swe), Chutichai Porani (Tha), Joanne Mills (Aus), Carlota Ciganda (Spa), Iben Tinning (Den), Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha), Stephanie Arricau (Fra), Clare Queen (Sco)

73 Bettina Hauert (Ger), Becky Brewerton (Wal), Lynn Brooky (Nzl), Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Asa Gottmo (Swe), Sophie Walker (Eng), Maria Hjorth (Swe), Paula Marti (Spa), Marta Prieto (Spa), Sarah Kemp (Aus)

74 Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den), Maria Boden (Swe), Tania Elosegui (Spa), Hazel Kavanagh (Irl), Leah Hart (Aus), Beatriz Recari (Spa), Catrin Nilsmark (Swe), Melissa Reid (Eng), Anna Temple (USA), Anna Tybring (Swe)

75 Jo Clingan (Eng), Mette Buus (Den), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger), Ana B Sanchez (Spa), Helen Alfredsson (Swe)

76 Margherita Rigon (Ita), Smriti Mehra (Ind), Emma Zackrisson (Swe), Eva Steinberger (Aut), Ana Larraneta (Spa), Martina Gillen (Irl), Jehanne Jail (Fra), Hee Jung Kim (Kor), Sofia Renell (Swe), Georgina Simpson (Eng), Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den), Karen Lunn (Aus), Frederique Seeholzer (Swi), Kirsty Taylor (Eng), Sara Beautell (Spa)

77 Helena Alterby (Swe), Jenni Kuosa (Fin), Johanna Westerberg (Swe), Christine Hallstrom (Swe), Anna Knutsson (Swe), Natalie Claire Booth (Eng), Rebecca Coakley (Irl), Minea Blomqvist (Fin), Elisa Serramia (Spa), Natalie Gulbis (USA), Maria Beautell (Spa)

78 Maria Verchenova (Rus), Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Natascha Fink (Aut), Anna Rawson (Aus), Stefanie Michl (Aut), Anna Rossi (Ita), Kiran Matharu (Eng), Cassandra Kirkland (Fra)

79 Nathalie David-Mila (Fra), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra), Nora Angehrn (Swi)

80 Antonella Cvitan (Swe), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor), Ellen Smets (Bel), Pia Koivuranta (Fin)

81 Mounya Amalou-Sayah (Mor), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Marjet van der Graaff (Ned)

82 Shalini Malik (Ind), Jade Schaeffer (Fra), Laura Cabanillas (Spa), Carmen Alonso (Spa)

84 Sarah Heath (Eng)