Dixon weathers the conditions to stay on course in Madeira

ENGLAND'S David Dixon gladly swapped the stifling heat of Singapore for the wind and rain of the Madeira Island Open yesterday.

Dixon carded a first-round 68 at Santo da Serra despite a strong wind and heavy rain on the course perched 2,300ft above sea level.

That was just one behind clubhouse leader Magnus Persson Atlevi, the Swede carding a flawless 67 before a combination of rain and low cloud forced play to be suspended for almost two hours and 20 minutes.

"The weather is easily the worst we've had this year but you know what to expect here," said Dixon, who was the leading amateur at the Open at Royal Lytham in 2001 but lost his card last season and had to return to the qualifying school.

Dixon led after the first round of the Benson and Hedges International last year and went on to finish joint 10th, but that was his only top 10 of the season and he finished 158th on the Order of Merit.

"I think the biggest thing I learnt from last year was patience," added the 26-year-old from Bridgwater, who will celebrate his 27th birthday on Saturday.

An eagle on the 14th, where he holed from 69 yards, signalled a possible change of luck for Dixon and he had another stroke of good fortune on the last when his drive bounced off the cart path and back onto the fairway.

Compatriot Sam Walker was not so lucky however, the delay coming when he was five under par with three holes to play.

On the resumption the 26-year-old from Birmingham bogeyed two of his remaining holes to card a 69 and admitted: "The delay didn't help me much. I was a bit tight going out there and didn't warm up properly."

Meanwhile, Persson Atlevi backed Bernhard Langer's surprise decision to appoint Anders Forsbrand as his Ryder Cup vice-captain.

"Anders is a very experienced player although he hasn't played the Ryder Cup," said Atlevi, a contemporary of Forsbrand on the European Tour.

"He would have played if the cut off for the team had been a week or two later in 1991 (and went on to win the World Cup and Dunhill Cup that year).

"He and Bernhard are friends and that is the most important thing for Bernhard. They know each other well, their wives are friends and they are the same age as well."