A dream start for Broadhurst

Golf

Paul Broadhurst shot a seven-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead in the first round of the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre in the Swiss Alps yesterday, and said it had been foretold in a dream.

"Michael Campbell, the New Zealand guy, came up to me in the players' lounge this morning and said: `Broady, I dreamed about you last night and you shot a 64 or 65'," a puzzled Broadhurst said. "Why Campbell should dream about me, I have no idea. We are not particular mates, but he was spot on. I think I'll ask him if he has any more dreams, but if I've shot a 74, I don't want to know."

Broadhurst, who has been changing his swing this season under the tuition of Colin Montgomerie's coach, Bill Ferguson, had eight birdies and only one bogey in a round which kept him ahead of five challengers - Montgomerie, Sam Torrance, Lee Westwood, Malcolm Mackenzie and Argentina's Eduardo Romero.

Broadhurst might have had an even better round had the greens not cut up a little in the afternoon when he was in full swing. "The greens did get a bit spiky, but that's normal later in the day and I'm not going to criticise them after being warned last week," he said.

Broadhurst had told a journalist at Collingtree last week that he would not even park his car on the greens there because they were so bad, and he was given a quiet warning from a Tour official, but no fine.

Of his nearest challengers, Montgomerie is hoping to collect the pounds 127,950 first prize to return to the top of the Order of Merit, and Torrance is also keen because he is 66th in the money list and needs to be in the first 50 to make the Volvo Masters at Valderrama next month.

Montgomerie, in second place, is pounds 68,000 behind Ian Woosnam in the money list, and needs to finish first or second this week to go back to No 1, a position he has held for the past three years in Europe.

He was delighted with his 65, saying: "My big target at the start of the year was to win a major. I didn't do that, so the big goal now is to be European No 1 for the fourth successive year."

Torrance was just as pleased with his round, as he has been playing badly since finishing second in Europe last year.

However, the five British players on the leaderboard will have to watch out for Romero. The Argentinian was 22 under par when he won this tournament in 1994 and said: "I feel I'm playing well enough to win here again."

Scores, Sporting Digest, page 27