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O`Malley at the forefront in Italian Open
Gardagolf, May 01: Australia`s Peter O`Malley took a two-shot lead over England`s Gary Clark after equalling the course record with an eight-under 64 in the opening round at Gardagolf.
Gardagolf, May 01: Australia's Peter O'Malley took a two-shot lead over England's Gary Clark after equalling the course record with an eight-under 64 in the opening round at Gardagolf.
O'Malley was making his first appearance for two months after a self-imposed break from golf, while Clark - without a full tour card or regular caddie - was forced to carry his own clubs.
Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez, Sweden's Fredrik Orest and England's Roger Chapman all finished three strokes adrift of the leader. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, making his first European Tour appearance of the season, played a steady round of 70 to finish at two under.
O'Malley recovered from a bogey at the first to make an eagle and eight birdies before a missed green at the 17th cost him another bogey.
"I didn't come out with a lot of expectation - I just hoped I'd play well and I did," said O'Malley. "It was a pretty solid round seeing as I hadn't played much recently.
"I only missed two greens and two fairways - and not by much. I felt good over the weekend and I've been working a lot on my putting with my coach and that paid off."
Montgomerie, meanwhile, admitted his performance had been unremarkable but was at least an improvement on his form in the US, where he only made one cut in six weeks.
"My round was standard - I didn't play that well but didn't play that badly. I'll get into it a little bit more once I relax a little bit," he said. "Obviously, I was tense after the start I've made this year. I want to get going and sometimes I go too fast."
Bureau Report
O'Malley was making his first appearance for two months after a self-imposed break from golf, while Clark - without a full tour card or regular caddie - was forced to carry his own clubs.
Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez, Sweden's Fredrik Orest and England's Roger Chapman all finished three strokes adrift of the leader. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, making his first European Tour appearance of the season, played a steady round of 70 to finish at two under.
O'Malley recovered from a bogey at the first to make an eagle and eight birdies before a missed green at the 17th cost him another bogey.
"I didn't come out with a lot of expectation - I just hoped I'd play well and I did," said O'Malley. "It was a pretty solid round seeing as I hadn't played much recently.
"I only missed two greens and two fairways - and not by much. I felt good over the weekend and I've been working a lot on my putting with my coach and that paid off."
Montgomerie, meanwhile, admitted his performance had been unremarkable but was at least an improvement on his form in the US, where he only made one cut in six weeks.
"My round was standard - I didn't play that well but didn't play that badly. I'll get into it a little bit more once I relax a little bit," he said. "Obviously, I was tense after the start I've made this year. I want to get going and sometimes I go too fast."
Bureau Report