Rookie Richard Finch of England broke the course record at Castello di Tolcinasco Golf Club with a blistering nine under par 63 in the Telecom Italia Open to take the lead in a European Tour event for the first time.
A 12 under par halfway total left Finch one ahead of Welshman Bradley Dredge and he will now have to scrap his plans to attend a friends wedding in Portugal on Saturday.
"I checked out of my hotel," said Finch. "So I'll have to find myself a room now. But it's a nice problem to have. I'm sure the couple will understand."
Finch arrived on The European Tour with an impressive amateur pedigree including victories in the 2000 Spanish Amateur Championship, the 2002 English Amateur Championship and the 2003 St Andrews Links Trophy. After a year on the Challenge Tour last season, he earned his European Tour card by finishing tenth at the Qualifying School at San Roque.
His 63 represents his lowest round as a professional, although he did once shoot 61 in qualifying for the Amateur Championship.
Finch completed nine holes of his first round for a 69 when he returned to the course at 7am but immediately had to set off again for the second round, allowing no time for breakfast. Instead he ate just apples and bananas for sustenance, but the effect was devastating.
An eagle three on the first was followed by five more birdies and just one dropped shot on his way to an outward half of 31. Another four birdies coming home, ensuring he birdied all four par three on the course, completed a stunning 63, beating the previous record by a stroke.
“I was looking at the course record on the wall in the clubhouse during the rain delay last night – 64 by Gregory Havret and Mark Roe – and said that won’t be beaten for a long while,” said Finch. “It is great to do that.”
A three putt from the back of the final green cost Dredge a share of the lead, a six under par 66 leaving him one off the pace heading into the weekend. It was his only dropped shot of a round that contained seven birdies, five on the back nine.
“I didn’t hit the ball as well today but the putter was red hot,” said Dredge. “It is nice when the hole feels the size of a bucket. Just hit it towards it and it was going in. The short game was very good today and I made a lot of saves.”
Frenchman Havret, winner of the title in his rookie season in 2001 and third last year, where he missed out on the play-off having established the old course record of 64 in the first round, once again showed his liking for this tournament with a seven under par 65 taking him to nine under par 135.
He was joined on that mark by England’s Paul Broadhurst, the winner of the Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos last month also posting a seven under par 65. Since his win in Portugal, Broadhurst has been inundated with congratulatory messages including letters from Peter Alliss and the legendary Gary Player.
Frenchman Julien Van Hauwe had plenty celebrate when he holed-in-one on the par three 16th, his ace with a five iron from 187 metres earning him a BMW 645Ci car.
Defending champion Graeme McDowell, the second highest ranked player in the field, three putted the final hole to finish on level par and miss the cut by one stroke.
