Golf: Sick Ray is left dizzy by success

DAVID RAY rose from his sick bed, cancelled a flight home and then shot an eight-under-par 64 to share the lead with Mark James in the first round of the BMW International Open at Munich yesterday.

Ian Woosnam, looking for a big cheque to boost his Ryder Cup chances, dug out an old putter and shot 65 to take joint third place.

Despite two thunderstorms during the day which held up play for over two hours, the course was conducive to low scores with three-quarters of the field of 141 shooting par or better.

Ray went down with food poisoning after eating in a Bristol restaurant on Monday evening. He flew to Munich on Tuesday, went to bed at 6pm that evening and did not get up again until 6am yesterday morning. He felt so weak he booked a flight home but made a last-minute decision to play.

'I felt dreadful all the way round and I was so dizzy I could not get down to line up my putts because I would have fallen over,' Ray said. 'I just putted without bothering too much and everything went in. I never felt I could miss.'