Italian Open
Castelconturbia
Milan, Italy
30th April - 3rd May 1998

Par 72 Prize Money £500,000

Third Day Report

Second Day Report
First Day Report
First Round Scores

Sjoland steals limelight

Milan, Italy, 2nd May 1998 - Patrik Sjoland held onto the lead in the rain-affected Italian Open.

The Swede took the shine off the best day of Thomas Bjorn's career when he shot five birdies in the first 10 holes of his second round at the Italian Open, near Milan, before darkness halted play.

It enabled Sjoland to go into the overall lead at 13 under par, one shot ahead of Bjorn, the big-hitting Dane who had two successive rounds of 66 to be clubhouse leader with a 36 holes aggregate of 132.

Bjorn had also shot two 66s in his last two rounds to win the Spanish Open in Barcelona last week but on different days. He said: "I can't ever remember having two such good rounds on the same day."

For a long time it looked as if he would keep his lead but Sjoland, who will play the last eight holes of his second round on Sunday morning at Castelconturbia Golf Club, had his five-birdie spurt to take his narrow lead.

Bjorn leads in the clubhouse by two shots from Peter Baker and Mark James but Jose Maria Olazabal is level with the two Englishmen at 10 under par with eight holes of his second round to play.

The 27-year-old already has two victories to his credit this year having won the Heineken Classic in Australia in February before last week's success in Barcelona, and he is not afraid of winning again tomorrow.

"You cannot relax after a win," he said. "You must have the desire to win every week. Great players never relax and I think I have the same attitude.

"I'm more interested in the world rankings than the Volvo Ranking. My goals are to be one of the best players in Europe and then one of the best in the world."

Bjorn added: "They say the European Tour starts at the Benson and Hedges in two weeks time. If I've won £300,000 by then, I'll be way ahead of the rest."

Today, Bjorn had seven birdies and one bogey in each of his two rounds as tournament director David Garland tried to catch up to schedule after losing 17 hours of the first two days due to the course being waterlogged.

The first round was only completed this morning and the second round will not be finished until tomorrow.

Bjorn thought his two 66s were the best day's golf he had ever had but Baker was almost as delighted with two 67s.

"I had only one stupid moment when I four putted the 16th in the morning round," he said. "But it was really weird to start the event on Saturday after hanging around for two days. All in all it was a great day for me."

James, like Baker a former Ryder Cup player, was not too keen on playing 36 holes in a day and said: "I've been around a long time but I've never waited so long to get started. I hope I never have to again."

Despite that, James shot a superb 65 in the morning and defied his tiredness in the afternoon by finishing with an eagle and a birdie at the eighth and ninth, his last two holes, for a 69 and 134.

Ireland's Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke also had good days. McGinley shot a superb 63 in the morning but it could not count as a course record because preferred lies were in use.

Then in the afternoon he had a disastrous, triple bogey eight at the eighth, the easiest hole on the course, when he twice went into the water guarding the green. But his level par 72 made him fourth in the clubhouse on 135.

"I was delighted to hold myself together after taking that eight," he said. "It was a real body blow but I did well to come back and shoot level par."

Clarke was not so happy. He shot 65 in the morning but had a 71 for 136 in the afternoon and said: "I had 33 putts in my second round.

"I putted extremely badly and that was the story of the afternoon. It was nothing to do with tiredness, just the putting."

Now Garland's plan to is complete the second round tomorrow and then play a third round, from two tees, in the afternoon to make it a 54-hole tournament. The weather was dry and sunny today and all Garland needs is more of the same.