A shoulder injury cost Haeggman his European card last season

Joakim Haeggman survived an attack from an angry goose to lie just two shots off leader Matthew Zions after the first round of the Andalucia Open.

Haeggman was next to the lake on the left of the 18th fairway when he was set upon and forced to defend himself.

"At first I laughed about it," said the Swede, who finished alongside English duo Gary Lockerbie and Chris Gane.

"But when I put my hand down it wanted to have a go at me. I had to give it a slap across the face, I had no choice."

Haeggman held his nerve after the incident to save par on his way to a five-under par 67 which included seven birdies and two bogeys.

Australian Zions, based in Denver, Colorado where he attended university, leads on seven under with Alejandro Canizares a shot back.

Canizares' 66 was one of the few near-faultless rounds of the day as the Spaniard aims to add to his Russian Open success last year.

Ryder Cup team-mates Paul McGinley and Lee Westwood had to settle for rounds of 71 and 72, six and seven shots back respectively.

Westwood threw his putter at his bag several times in frustration at his continuing poor form on the greens.