Sven Struver takes opening day honours - Madeira Islands Open 2008

Germany’s Sven Struver found the form that earned him three European Tour wins in the 1990s to take a one-stroke lead in the Madeira Islands Open first round on Thursday.

The 40-year-old from Hamburg set the pace with a morning six-under 66 in difficult conditions of wind and rain which only got worse as the day wore on.

South African Hennie Otto had to defy heavy downpours and produce one of his career-best putting rounds with five birdies in six holes to edge within a stroke of Struver.

After wins in the 1996 South African PGA Championship, 1997 Dutch Open and 1998 European Masters, Struver has been in decline since the turn of the century but began 2008 with hope of getting back to winning ways.

A tied ninth finish in the Joburg Open gave the son of Hamburg golf professional Jochen a hint of his past form and his weather-hit round in Madeira gave him a further lift.

“Playing in the last group out in the final round in South Africa this year showed me I can still compete,” Struver told Reuters.

“I had a little sniff then and I want more. I’m not happy finishing down at the end of the field.”

Otto, who led the 2003 British Open after the first round, has often suffered from temperament and was fined 5,000 pounds for throwing his bag of clubs in a river after a 2001 South African Masters round.

However, he kept his cool admirably on Thursday despite the bad weather as he tries to regain his tour card.

“This game’s all about putting and after a I had a three-putt it all went right for once,” Otto told reporters. “I took only 24 putts when for a long time I couldn’t break 32.”

Frenchmen Gregory Bourdy and Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Swedes Peter Gustafsson and Fredrik Widmark were in third place after carding four-under 68s.

American Notah Begay, returning to Europe after back problems in 2007, managed a 71.

“The weather was kind of ‘welcome back to Europe,’” Begay, who has opted to play in Europe rather than take up his spot on the U.S. Nationwide Tour, told Reuters.

“I could have been playing in Puerto Rico this week but I knew Madeira would be a good test for the back now that I’m going to be playing Europe through the year, and it stood up to it well.”

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