You are in > manchester.com  > News > Ballesteros return below par

General Sports News

Ballesteros return below par

13/10/2005

Seve Ballesteros has made a rousing return to competitive action on the European Tour despite slumping to a six-over-par round of 77 on day one of the Madrid Open.

The affable Spaniard, now 48 years of age, has been sidelined for the best part of two years due mainly to a career-threatening arthritic back problem.

But the golfing legend returned to a rapturous welcome at Club de Campo in the Spanish capital, the scene of the last of his record 50 tour titles ten years ago.

However, the vocal reception was not quite enough to disguise his unsurprising lack of match practice as he started with three straight bogeys, before reaching the turn in 41.

Thankfully, he managed to turn his form around on the inward nine and carded a credible level-par 36 to end on six over, a score he was relatively pleased with.

"Everything was fine until I walked onto the first tee and started to get a bit tight," Ballesteros admitted.

"The problem was the first three holes. I didn't feel comfortable and was a bit tense.

"That made the rest of the day difficult, but I played well on the back nine and started feeling like I did before I played."

The early pace in Madrid has been set by Swede Robert Karlsson and Englishman Mark Roe who both enjoyed stunning opening rounds reaching eight under, to lead by one from Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke.

© Adfero Ltd