VIRGINIA WATER, England, 23 May 2003 — Darren Clarke reaped the benefit of a new diet and fitness program as he shot a sparkling 66 to lead the Volvo PGA Championship by one stroke after yesterday’s opening round at Wentworth.

The Northern Irishman has never subscribed to the Tiger Woods approach which involves as much effort in the gym as on the course and consequently he has developed a somewhat rounded swing to complement a well-padded physique.

He now says he has seen the error of his ways and he was celebrating with nothing stronger than a mineral water after a trim first round.

Leading the chase behind the man from Dungannon were Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and James Kingston of South Africa, who were both playing the West Course for the first time, plus Scot Alastair Forsyth.

Clarke’s effort stood out on a dank, chilly day where below par scores were relatively few and far between. That made the 67s recorded by Jaidee and Kingston all the more commendable as neither had seen the course except on television.

There was no such luck for Seve Ballesteros, the five-time major winner, who was fined and reprimanded on the eve of the tournament for past clashes with officialdom.

He pulled out yesterday with a bad cold although he may have been cheered somewhat that the man who chaired the disciplinary hearing, Mark James, ran up a quintuple-bogey 10 on the long fourth where he took six putts and eventually finished with an 11-over-par 83.

Sorenstam Back to Level

After First Bogey

In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sorenstam dropped her first bogey of a bold first round in the Colonial PGA tournament yesterday when she slipped up at the par-four fifth hole to go back to level par.

After missing her first fairway of her round the Swede, who started on the 10th, shaped a four-iron onto the green but she took three putts to hole out.

When Sorenstam drove off on the 10th, she became the first woman in 58 years to compete in a PGA Tour event.

The Swede’s opening drive flew 275 yards straight down the fairway and she went on to birdie one and par 12 of her first 13 holes on the par-70 7,080 yards course.

She hit all the fairways in regulation and needed only 13 putts in a first-nine score of 34 and was outstripping her two playing partners Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson.

With just two holes of her round to play she was five shots behind leader Patrick Sheehan.

Sorenstam’s second shot at her par-4 404 yards opener took her three yards from the flag. The Swede missed the birdie putt but tapped in for par.