CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland, Aug 30, 2012 (AFP) - Bourdy climbed to the top of the leaderboard on the back of five birdies on his inward nine holes.
"It was a great day. I don't think I've ever played better," said Bourdy, who is aiming to pick up his first Tour win since 2009 and the Hong Kong Open.
"This course isn't the most difficult, but it's not the easiest either because you have to hit the ball very straight, and I managed to do that today.
"I only missed one shot all day, but still managed to save par. My attitude was very good; I was very positive and that's why I finished very well."
He holds a two-stroke lead over England's Oliver Fisher and Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed, who share second on six-under-par 65 at Crans-sur-Sierre in the Swiss Alps.
There was a five-way tie for fourth on five under between Welshman Rhys Davies, England's Robert Coles, India's Anirban Lahiri, Scott Barr of Australia and England's David Howell.
Only two members of Europe's Ryder Cup team -- Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson -- are competing here this week.
Scot Lawrie, aiming to add this to his win last weekend in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Glenagles, shot a two-under-par 69, as did Sweden's Hanson, who recovered well after bogeying three of the first nine holes.
Andy Zhang, the 14-year-old Chinese amateur, ended his first round with a one-over-par 72.
European Masters first round scores at Crans-sur-Sierre here on Thursday:
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):
63 - Gregory Bourdy (FRA)
65 - Oliver Fisher, Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE)
66 - Scott Barr (AUS), David Howell, Robert Coles, Rhys Davies, Anirban Lahiri (IND)
67 - Andrew Dodt (AUS), Danny Willett, Johan Edfors (SWE), Romain Wattel (FRA), Stephen Gallacher, Niclas Fasth (SWE), Markus Brier (AUT), Sam Little
68 - Anders Hansen (DEN), Berry Henson (USA), Jose Manuel Lara (ESP), Graeme Storm, Felipe Aguilar (CHI), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Marcus Fraser (AUS), Marcel Siem (GER), Phillip Price, Julien Quesne (FRA), Victor Dubuisson (FRA), Lee Slattery, Martin Rominger (SUI), David Drysdale, Thomas Levet (FRA), Jyoti Randhawa (IND)
69 - Maximilian Walz (GER), Jaco Van Zyl (RSA), Simon Dyson, Scott Jamieson, Peter Hanson (SWE), Shane Lowry, Henrik Stenson (SWE), Gregory Havret (FRA), Steve Webster, Richie Ramsay, Richard McEvoy, Kieran Pratt (AUS), Maarten Lafeber (NED), Alex Cejka (GER), Paul Lawrie, Jamie Donaldson, Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
70 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Ross Fisher, Ricardo Santos (POR), Branden Grace (Rsa), Mathias Gronberg (SWE), Adrien Saddier (FRA), Prom Meesawat (THA), Tommy Fleetwood, David Lipsky (USA), Michael Hoey, George Murray, Hennie Otto (RSA), Michael Campbell (NZL), Darren Fichardt (RSA), Jason Knutzon (USA), Tjaart Van Der Walt (RSA), Richard S Johnson (SWE), Richard Finch, Keith Horne (RSA), Lorenzo Gagli (ITA)
Selected
71 - Scott Hend (AUS), Peter Karmis (RSA), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (IND), Himmat Singh Rai (IND), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Brett Rumford (AUS), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Angelo Que (PHI)
72 - Thomas Aiken (RSA), Garth Mulroy (RSA), Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP), Colin Montgomerie, Marcus Both (AUS), Andy Zhang (CHN), Rich Beem (USA), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND), Paul McGinley, Richard Sterne (RSA)
73 - Shiv Kapur (IND), James Kingston (RSA), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA)
74 - Matthew Zions (AUS), Namchok Tantipokakul (THA), Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Thomas Bjorn (DEN)
75 - Greg Norman (USA)
77 - Chiragh Kumar (IND)
78 - Zaw Moe (KOR), Digvijay Singh (IND)
79 - Richard Green (AUS)