STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Nick Dougherty holed a 142-yard wedge shot for eagle Thursday on his way to a 4-under 66 and a three-way tie for the lead in the first round of the SAS Masters on the European Tour.

England's Dougherty, runner-up in this event last year, was tied with Peter Hanson of Sweden and Pedro Linhart of Spain after a wet and windy round at the Arlandastad Golf Course north of Stockholm.

Dougherty didn't have a bogey, and his wedge shot went straight in on the par-4 12th hole for the shot of the day.

"It's been a long while since I've had a round with no bogeys," said Dougherty, who missed the cut at last week's PGA Championship with rounds of 77 and 82. "I had plenty of them last week, that's for sure."

Hanson had six birdies but began with a bogey and had another one on the short 18th, his ninth hole.

"It was a good score," Hanson said. "It's always nice to get one early in a tournament."

Linhart, who unlike his co-leaders played in the afternoon, had seven birdies and three bogeys.

Robert Karlsson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 21, tied for 69th with a 2-over 72. The Swedish Ryder Cup player, who had top-20 finishes in all four majors this year, has played this European PGA Tour event every year since 1991.

"It's important for Swedish golf to be here," he said.

Other world-class Swedes such as Henrik Stenson and Carl Pettersson skipped the tournament.

Two-time former champion Jesper Parnevik, the last Swede to win the event in 1998, shot 68 and shared 11th. Parnevik, the tournament's player-manager, played well despite a late night out with sponsors.

"I only slept two hours, so it was tough to get up early in the morning," he said. "But I'm very pleased. It was tough out there today with the wind."

Defending champion Mikko Ilonen of Finland shot 70.

American D.J. Trahan, among the leading candidates for one of Paul Azinger's four wild cards for the Ryder Cup team, shot 73.

Ever since his mother died after a heart attack in April, the 26-year-old Dougherty has understandably struggled for focus, not even managing a top-50 finish in his last seven starts. But his 66 has enabled Dougherty to see light at the end of the tunnel.

"It keeps the dream alive," he said.

Dougherty led the European Ryder Cup points table on winning the Dunhill Links title at St. Andrews last October, but is down to 15th with this event and only two more counting tournaments to come.

To Dougherty's great surprise, ninth-placed Oliver Wilson and 10th-placed Soren Hansen are taking this week off after missing the cut, like him, in last week's PGA Championship and so Faldo's prodigy can move right onto their heels by winning on Sunday.

"I've not played a good round in what feels like forever, but I played some really really great golf there," he added, having begun with a 30-foot par saving putt and having kept a bogey off his card in the strong wind and showers.

"A few weeks ago my mind was somewhere else and it was driving me insane, but you've got to turn the corner somewhere, so hopefully this is where it starts," he added. "It should have been a fantastic year, but it's turned into a horrid one on and off the course for me and my family.

"It would have been the easiest thing to say I'm not going to bother, but my mum wanted me to do everything I could to make the Ryder Cup," he explained. "If I don't, I won't feel disappointed with myself. I've done what I can and playing badly after what's happened is fully acceptable."

Dougherty considers himself way down the list of possible wild cards -- Faldo has two to hand out on Aug. 31 -- and sees the final countdown in simple terms.

"I've just got to play great," he commented.

Hanson, trying to be the first home winner of the title since Parnevik a decade ago, covered the front nine in a four-under 30 to catch Dougherty.

Linhart, 219th on the Order of Merit and 1,276th in the world, then made it a three-way tie with two closing birdies on the front nine.

German Martin Kaymer, 11th in the Ryder Cup race and with a chance to leap to eighth, had a 1-under 69, as did Paul McGinley, who resigned as a vice-captain to Faldo hoping to make the team, but is down in 28th spot in the standings.

The group only one behind Dougherty, Hanson and Linhart includes four of the European Tour's most experienced members: Scotland's Gary Orr, England's Paul Broadhurst and Peter Baker and Australian Peter Fowler, who at 49 is trying to become the circuit's oldest-ever winner.

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