England's Storm and Rock tied for lead at Italian Open
Englishmen Graeme Storm and Robert Rock shared the clubhouse lead with Australian Marcus Fraser on five-under earlier today in the first round of the BMW Italian Open.
Storm impressed with four birdies on five holes between the 3rd and 7th before tailing off on the back nine, one birdie and a bogey threatening to peg him back. But the 32-year-old produced a strong finish, eagling the 18th to share the lead.
Starting on the 10th, Rock carded three birdies across the back nine before bogeying the 3rd, though a further trio of birdies kept him level with Graeme. Fraser also began on the 10th, starting his round with a bogey, though he bounced back in style to rack up seven birdies (and another bogey) to remain on equal terms with the leaders.
England's David Horsey’s current standing is fourth place on four under, along with South Africa's Otto Hennie. And Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin is amongst those tied for sixth place after coming home three-under.
Italy's Matteo Manassero (pictured) completed his first round as a professional in fine style, coming home two under after carding three birdies and a bogey on the 17th. Just 17 years old, Manassero has already competed in last year's Open and this year's Masters; tied for 13th at Turnberry and 36th at Augusta, Manassero was the lowest placed amateur at both tournaments.
With the start of play delayed by two hours after heavy rain, many players are yet to finish their round at the Royal Park Golf and Country Club near Turin, so it's safe to say the leaderboard could change dramatically in the next few hours. However, one player's status is unlikely to improve greatly by the end of the round; Manassero's playing partner, Colin Montgomerie.
If Manassero's confident and competent play belied his age, by contrast Monty looked the embodiment of exhaustion rather than experience, coming home four-over after carding three bogeys and a double, along with a couple of birdies to keep things at least slightly respectable.
At the Player's Championship at Sawgrass, Florida, no player has yet finished the first round, though Ben Crane is leading on four-under at the moment, having played up to the 11th. England's Greg Owen and Luke Donald are among those a stroke behind, as is last year's winner, Sweden's Henrik Stenson.
Phil Mickelson is one-under after 11 holes, while England's Paul Casey is even. Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter are among the big name players yet to tee off.
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