Westwood won the Andalucian Open and British Masters titles in 2007

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
(GB & Ire unless stated):
-5 A Haig (SA), L Westwood
-3 P Broadhurst, J Edfors (Swe), A Noren (Swe), M Siem (Ger), H Stenson (Swe), S Garcia (Sp), A Scott (Aus)
Selected others:
-2 L Donald, D Howell
-1 R McIlroy, C Montgomerie
level P Casey
+3 I Poulter

Britain's Lee Westwood fired an opening round of 67 for a share of the first-day lead at the Qatar Masters.

The 34-year-old, who in May 2007 ended a run of four seasons without a title, carded five birdies and did not drop a stroke at the Doha Golf Club.

Anton Haig birdied four of the first seven holes to also reach five under.

Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott are in a large group sharing second, two shots back, with Colin Montgomerie and Rory McIlroy a further two strokes adrift.

Also in the group tied for second is veteran Paul Broadhurst, the 42-year-old whose last victroy came at the Portuguese Open in 2006.

He dropped a shot at the first and the last but birdied three holes out of four early in his round.

Westwood tees off from the spectacular 11th hole on day one

Luke Donald, the highest ranked British player in the field, eagled the 307-yard par-four 16th, but McIlroy's round ended in disappointing fashion with dropped shots at the final two holes.

The teenager from Northern Ireland still finished comfortably ahead of Ian Poulter, who was unable to record a birdie and dropped three shots in his 75.

Westwood, who finished second at the Abu Dhabi Championship, attributed his encouraging form to some determined work off the course in the fitness room.

"I am in much better physical condition now, thanks to my visits to the gym," he said. "I feel alive and I am not lethargic at all.

"Last week, I was a bit rusty, but now I feel better."

Haig, the talented 6ft 4" 22-year-old South African who won his maiden European Tour title at the Johnnie Walker Classic in 2007 to earn his card for this season, said: "It is all about confidence and I have that right now.

"I just started out with a few rhythm drills and then hit the ball pretty decent, and I putted really well."

Defending champion Retief Goosen withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday because of an eye complaint following recent laser surgery.