Rain ruins second day

Torrential rain washed out the second day of the Italian Open in Milan today as large parts of the Castello di Tolcinasco course were left under water.

Play was called off at 11.30am local time and raised the prospect of a reduced halfway cut, a Monday finish or shortening the tournament to 54 holes.

The other option, under new regulations, is to reduce the cut by a shot to give a more manageable field for Sunday.

“It’s been raining heavily since 6pm last night and the forecast is not good for the afternoon so there will be no play for today,” said tournament director Mike Stewart.

Sheffield’s Mark Roe and France’s Gregory Havret share the lead after opening rounds of 64, one shot clear of New Zealand’s Michael Campbell and Sweden’s Christopher Hanell.

Pre-tournament favourite Ian Poulter carded a first-round 68, but Jose Maria Olazabal struggled to a two-over-par 74.

Roe attributed his return to the top of the leaderboard to advances made on the greens.

“I’ve been playing absolutely beautifully all year, played five events and made five cuts and just not been holing any putts,” said Roe, whose last tour victory came a decade ago.

“But the second I got here I liked the greens, there was no grain and I could see the lines again.

“I [had] changed my putter and dug out the old one from the garage. I’ve had it for six or seven years and it’s astonishing it has survived that long. It’s been discarded in a few places but I have always gone back for it. I’ve ran the other one over with the car to make sure it can never come back.”