Maybin’s Turin tour de force

IRELAND’S Gareth Maybin, so close to winning just the seventh European Tour event of his career in December, was in a class of his own when the BMW Italian Open began in Turin yesterday.

A course record 64, seven under par, gave the 28-year-old from Belfast a three-stroke lead over Scot Richie Ramsay, French pair Raphael Jacquelin and Christian Cevaer and England’s Marcus Higley, while American John Daly would have been joint second as well but for two closing bogeys.

Maybin had an eight-foot putt to take the South African Open five months ago, but missed it and then lost a play-off to Richard Sterne.