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.
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