Bjorn perfectly happy to do it his own way

Johnnie Walker Classic: No one remembers who comes second, or so they say. But Thomas Bjorn along with Jean van de Velde are two men who have turned that cliche into a fallacy, having both, in spectacular fashion, lost British Opens when it seemed easier to win.

Van de Velde, who took seven at the last when six would have won at Carnoustie in 1999, has struggled, on and off the course, since. There has been a divorce and injuries, yet this week he is attempting another comeback in the Johnnie Walker Classic at the Alpine club in the Thai capital.

He had a one-under-par 71, no better than sort of okay, and it was left to Bjorn to demonstrate what was possible. Five-under after seven holes, he finished eight-under, 64, to lead by one from Nick Faldo and two from Ian Poulter, Scott Gardiner and Jarrod Moseley.

Graeme McDowell with a one-under 71 was best of the Irish, with Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy struggling to make the cut after 73.

Just over half the field of 138 broke par on a smog-filled day, a brown pall blotting out the blue sky. For a large part Faldo led and was to ascribe his form to the extraordinary fact that he had not been hitting many balls in practice.

"I felt that I didn't want to go out and hit balls and do it wrong," he said. "So I've had hundreds of swings every day, trying to make the widest possible backswing and mix balance and strength and speed together, and checking it all in the window."

Bjorn has followed a more conventional route over winter, hitting thousands but at the same time accepting that his swing is probably never going to be perfect.

"I've got faults," he said, "but I'm going to try and play with them instead of trying to fight them. I will swing the way I want to do it and not the way the books and everyone tells you you've got to do it."

Bjorn lost his British Open, last year, mostly by taking three in a bunker at the 16th, eventually losing by one to Ben Curtis. The following week he lost a play-off to Michael Campbell in the Irish Open and later was runner-up to Ernie Els in the World Matchplay.

"After the Matchplay," said Bjorn yesterday, "I thought, 'When am I going to finish coming second'?" The answer was not long in coming.

In November he went to Japan and won the Dunlop Phoenix.

"That was important," he admitted. "You can't keep living in that moment at the Open, you have to move on."

He was 13-under in winning, seven-under in his last tournament in Hong Kong and yesterday made it 28-under for his last nine rounds."

Poulter almost did not start. A coughing fit in the night left him with an agonising pain in the rib area and he spent 45 minutes having physiotherapy before he could go on the course.

"I want to get into the Ryder Cup team early," he said, and he has made a good start.