Golf: Woosnam off to a flier

Ian Woosnam picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Michael Campbell with a fast start to the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Heidelberg today.

Despite more rain - yesterday’s opening day was delayed for seven hours and less than half the field completed their first rounds - play resumed at 7.20am and Woosnam birdied three of his first four holes.

Even then, though, the Welsh star was still seven adrift of New Zealander Campbell, whose sparkling 62 would have shattered the St Leon Rot course record by three but for the fact that cleaning and placing the ball was being allowed on the sodden fairways.

Woosnam, joint third in the £1.68m event last year, was playing alongside Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros, reviving memories of their Ryder Cups together.

But while he and Olazabal have their sights on playing at The Belfry in September - if he fails to make it Woosnam will be captain Sam Torrance’s assistant - Ballesteros purely wants to find some form.

He has made only one halfway cut all season and this after finishes on the Order of Merit the past four seasons of 136th, 108th, 143rd and 190th.

The problems which have taken Ballesteros out of the top 1,100 in the world rankings he once led were there for all to see again as he double-bogeyed the second, but he did at least match Woosnam’s two on the fourth to stand one over.

That was the same as French Open champion Olazabal, who bogeyed the third.

Weather permitting, they were facing the prospect of 36 holes today before Campbell played another shot.

The Kiwi, along with world number one Tiger Woods (69), defending champion Lee Westwood (66), Colin Montgomerie (70) and Darren Clarke (76) had to wait until around 6pm to resume and that meant their second rounds spilling into tomorrow.

Campbell led by four from Westwood, world number three Ernie Els, Argentina’s Eduardo Romero and Australian Lucas Parsons.

Dane Thomas Bjorn copied Woosnam’s opening to be three under after four, but his playing partner Bernhard Langer followed birdies at the first and third with a double bogey five on the next.