Without even a hint of a smile, Paul Broadhurst acknowledged his fourth 69 in the past week and said he was still not entirely happy with his game after shooting three under par on the first day of the British Masters. "I played really well for the first 12 holes but really struggled over the last six and I do not know why," said Atherstone's former Ryder Cup hero. Strange words, considering he is only three off David Howell's lead and managed to claim two birdies in the last three holes to restore respectability to his card. On his way out he birdied the first, fourth and seventh before dropping a shot at the short eighth. However, his response was positive and immediate on the ninth when, after a solid drive, he hit his approach to six feet and strode up to sink the birdie putt. A great way to fight back. But it is a fact that Broady can tend to dwell on negatives. He had already doubted the condition of the course this week and, yesterday, two bogeys on the back nine were playing on his mind. He said: "I hit a couple of loose shots on 13 and 14 when my drives went into the rough. With six to play, I thought I had a chance of getting to five under par but my long irons have been poor. I am hitting a hooky draw." But he bounced back with birdies at the 16th and 17th and left a tap after a 40ft putt to secure par on the last. He conceded that his game was consistent despite carrying a niggling elbow problem and a stiff wrist for which he has sought physiotherapy treatment. "I suppose four rounds of 69 is consistent," he said, before bemoaning the injuries that kept him out of action early in the season. "I started in Dubai really, when I would normally have played half-a-dozen times before that, so I am playing catch-up which does put me under added pressure, but my game is in good order." Steve Webster, another off the Atherstone Golf Club production line, emerged from his homeward nine four over par, having been two under at the turn, and blamed the putting problems he has had "for seven years since I turned pro" for his troubles. "I should go back to playing football," he joked, "I was crap at that, too. "I am getting fed up with putting like that. I have no confidence - it is a mental thing." Webster, who should be one of those bright prospects to have settled into his golf and claimed his first Tour title, shot two birdies on the first nine holes and then gave them back at the 11th and 13th before adding another brace of bogeys following a four-foot miss on the 15th and finding the water on the par-five 17th. He said: "There must have been mud on the ball on the 17th because I looked up and saw it go sideways . . . it went only 180 yards with my three-wood!" Robert Rock, the fresh-faced rookie who finished fourth on an invitation in this tournament last year, was also disappointed with his level par. Again, he squandered early good shots. "It was a poor effort after going two under par early on, which has been typical of my year," he said. "I seem to make a couple of birdies and then can't keep it going. "I did not read the putts very well, but I am striking them OK." He dropped shots at the 11th, where he pushed his drive into the right-hand rough and left his approach just off the fringe of the green, and 14th, which he describes as a "straight bogey." "I was all right on 11 but just did not hit my putt off the fringe hard enough," he said. "Then I missed a good chance at 12 and hit a three-iron to about six feet on the 13th, but missed that putt. "Coming in, I was tempted to have a go at the 17th. I thought I would hit my three-wood down the left-hand side but went into the water, so I suppose it was a good par from there." Rock described the set-up of the course as a tough but fair examination of golf. The rough is punishing but chances are there to be taken."I think you are always going to get a couple of bogeys here, particularly in this weather, but there are some good scores going on the board. "It was much the same last week [in the rain-hit Italian Open]. "It was difficult for three rounds but people were still getting to 19 under." Peter Baker, another Midlander to have graced a Ryder Cup team [with Broadhurst in the infamous 1991 'War on the Shore' at Kiawah Island], was happy enough to finish level on 72 after hitting a lot of greens in what he described as "a steady round." Baker, from Wolverhampton, picked up shots on the second and fourth holes only to drop them on the sixth and 13th thanks to landing in the rough. He said: "The course is very wet and the greens are really bumpy. "They were great on Tuesday but then we had the Pro-Am and today more than 150 of us have gone through it so, in these conditions, it is to be expected." It is, Baker asserts, just a fact of golf in Britain. Wentworth in late May might be dry enough for a decent round. "Until then, we will allways struggle." Gary Wolstenholme, one of only two amateurs in the field, finished level par alongside Ian Woosnam and Jonathan Lomas. Wolstenholme, from Lutter-worth, struggled manfully around Augusta in The Masters last month, only to miss the cut. He arrived at the daunting ninth tee and said: "Oh, I was hoping they might have moved it forward for us," before drilling his drive straight down the middle. He must feel, after yesterday's performance, that he is in with as much of a chance as any of his professional opponents. | 
