Mark Roe returned to the putter which almost brought him British Open championship glory to claim a share of the lead in the Italian Open today.
Roe dug the club out of his garage and carded six birdies and a closing eagle for an eight under par 64 to join France's Gregory Havret at the top of the leaderboard at Castello di Tolcinasco.
New Zealand's Michael Campbell and Sweden's Christopher Hanell were a shot behind after rounds of 65, with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Argentina's Cesar Monasterio another stroke adrift.
Elsewhere Damien McGrane opened on a four under 68 while Gary Murphy shot a one over 73.
Afterward Roe said: "I've been playing absolutely beautifully all year, played five events and made five cuts and just not been holing any putts. But the second I got here I liked the greens, there was no grain and I could see the lines again, and I changed my putter and dug out the old one from the garage."
He added: "I've had it for six or seven years and it's astonishing it has survived that long. It's been discarded in a few places but I have always gone back for it. I've ran the other one over with the car to make sure it can never come back. It's the same one I used at Sandwich so maybe it feels guilty, it feels like it owes me something."
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
