ROGER Chapman, whose fall from a tree at the end of November at first

made him think that an active life, let alone a golf career, might have

come to an end, yesterday had a 68, four under par, in the first round

of the Madeira Island Open -- uncompleted because of early morning fog.

With that score Chapman was a stroke behind American Jay Townsend, who

had eight birdies in his 67, in second place -- an all too familiar

number for one whose five finishes as runner-up during 12 seasons on the

PGA European Tour bear eloquent testimony to an example of promise

unfulfilled.

Chapman fell 12 feet, landing flat on his back. ''I could move only my

fingers and toes,'' he recalled. His wife, Catherine, was able to call

an ambulance and a hospital examination revealed only heavy bruising.

Mountain-top golf high abovethe Atlantic Ocean may offer riveting

views, but the price can be low clouds and a sea mist which swept over

the Madeira Club's 6635-yard course. Start of play was delayed by 82

minutes and the shirt-sleeve weather at sea level became at least one

sweater at 2000 feet.

Chapman, who began with a 67 in the first round last year, quickly

resumed his affinity with the course, as one of those to begin the new

year with a birdie. The four others he had in six holes from the short

seventh -- three of them in succession from there -- were the making of

his score.

Four of the players on 69 were graduates from the latest Tour school

-- two Swedes, Mathias Gronberg (fifteenth) and Peter Hedblom

(thirty-sixth), a Spaniard, Diego Borrego (eighteenth), and an

Argentinian, Ruben Alvarez (who was sixth).

Fortunes among the 11 Scots shifted. Stephen McAllister, despite five

bogeys, and Colin Brooks, who began with two birdies, both finished in

par. Paul Lawrie was something of a ghost at the feast provided by his

partners, Chapman and Paul Broadhurst (round in 70), after he had three

putts three times on the outward half.

Brian Barnes took 82, a modest four strokes lower than the 15-year-old

amateur, Alexandre Henriques, believed to be the youngest player to

compete in a Tour event. Adam Hunter (73) and Andrew Coltart (74) just

managed to beat the failing daylight.

Gary Orr, Mike Miller, and Brian Marchbank were three over par near

the end of their rounds and Ross Drummond one over, but Canadian Danny

Mijovic was five under and Howard Clark four under when they, and 29

others, abandoned their game of blind man's buff. Leading scores

(British and Irish unless stated):

67 -- J Townsend (USA).

68 -- R Chapman.

69 -- P Eales, M Gronberg (Sweden), R Alvarez (Argentina), P Hedblom

(Sweden), D Borrego (Spain), N Godin.

70 -- S Van Vuuren (S Africa), P Mayo, P Broadhurst, M Lanner

(Sweden), M Piltz (Finland), T Price (Australia), S Struver (Germany), J

Hall, R Lee.

Other British scores: 71 -- S Bottomley, D Curry, G J Brand S

Richardson. 72 -- G Manson, S Watson, S McAllister, L Westwood, C

Brooks, P Price, A Sherborne. 73 -- M Davis, M Nichols, P Affleck, A

Hunter. 74 -- P Curry, P Lawrie, P McGinley, D J Russell, G Ralph, H

Selby-Green M Poxon A Coltart, R Boxall. 75 -- R Willison J Lomad, D R

Jones. 76 -- A Collison, A Murray, D Smyth, C Suneson. 77 -- M

Mackenzie, K Ashdown, R McFarlane. 78 -- I Spencer, M Wills, P Golding.

79 -- J Robson. 82 -- B Barnes. 85 -- J Blanch.

* CRAIG Parry,the 27-year-old Australian who finished third in last

year's US Open but has yet to win an American tournament, took the early

lead with four birdies in a 66 in the $1.2m Hawaiian Open in Honolulu

yesterday.

Ulsterman David Feherty, who won his card in California in December,

who won the Scottish Open in 1986, made a satisfying debut with a 71.

The trade winds stiffened so that few made any challenge to Parry

after lunch. However, Morris Hatalsky, a veteran newly qualified for the

Tour, was an exception and he reached five under after 13 holes. Early

scores:

66 -- C Parry (Australia).

67 -- D Barr (Canada), S Murphy, S Jurgensen.

68 -- D Love, M Reid, F Funk, K Gibson, J Haas, M Standly, R Walcher,

S Stricker.

69 -- C Stadler, G Rassett, J Morse, J Maggert, N Henke, D Rummells, B

Crenshaw, L Clements.

Others include: 70 -- J Thorpe, H Sutton. 71 -- D Feherty (Northern

Ireland), T Kite, J Ozaki (Japan), J Mahaffey, K Clearwater. 72 -- S

Pate, D Russell. 73 -- T Simpson, T Sieckmann.