Seve set to make first cut of year

Golf

After coaching Tiger Woods to become the youngest and most comprehensive Masters champion ever, Butch Harmon did not have to look far for an encore. The man obviously likes a challenge. For his next trick, Seve Ballesteros may make his first cut this year.

Four under after 11 holes, Ballesteros could have done even better than his 70 in the first round of the Peugeot Spanish Open. He is four behind Germany's Alex Cejka and the defending champion, Padraig Harrington, who has managed to bring the form from his maiden win as a rookie at Club de Campo a year ago to the tournament's new venue at La Moraleja II.

Ballesteros finished third here in the Oki pro-am last October, an event won by his American counterpart as Ryder Cup captain, Tom Kite. But this year, the Spaniard's playing rations have been strictly limited to two days at a time. If that changes this weekend, it will have been built on the security of birdies at three of his first four holes yesterday.

It meant that a loss of concentration on the back nine was not disastrous. He left his recovery shot in a bunker at the short 13th and took three putts on the next. At 15, his eagle pitch lipped out, the birdie a formality, but a wild tee shot at the 17th cost another shot. Overall, Ballesteros was encouraged. "It is my best score and the best I have played this year," he said.

"I believe I played better than a 70, but the last six holes were a bit unsteady. I have been working with Butch at the Masters, at Santander last week and again here and I am very positive that things will change. I have won in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s and I will still be winning in 2000."

Strangely, Ballesteros denied that the world No 2, Greg Norman, was here because the Spaniard had agreed to play in Norman's tournament in Australia. "My manager Roddy Carr made the deal with Greg. Maybe Roddy will play in Australia," Seve said.

Norman shot a three-under 69, the same as his playing partner, Jose Maria Olazabal, who received Spain's highest sporting honour, the Gold Medal, on Monday night. On Wednesday, Norman had a bull dedicated to him at a bullfight but he declined the invitation to have a go himself. "I admire the courage of the matadors," the Shark said. "I wouldn't want to be in there doing that."

Cejka, who came home in 30, and Harrington, who made six birdies in eight holes from the fourth, led by one on 66 from club pro Gary Emerson and Mark James. The Ryder Cup veteran is another emerging from a spell where the only things wrong with his game were that he "putted poorly, thought poorly, swung poorly, had some bad luck and my chipping and sand play was not too good."

n Fuzzy Zoeller has withdrawn from the Greater Greensboro tournament saying he could not continue playing competitively until he had apologised personally to Tiger Woods for racially insensitive remarks he made about the Masters champion.