EUROPEAN TOUR ROUND-UP:TWO MONTHS away from his 52nd birthday Bernhard Langer comfortably got the better of 20-year-old playing partner Rory McIlroy in the first round of the BMW International Open in Munich yesterday.

Langer, trying again to become the oldest European Tour winner in history, returned a four-under-par 68 to be four behind pacesetter Retief Goosen.

Paul McGinleyalso returned a 68 after being badly unsettled three holes from home. While he was playing the seventh (his 16th) a female course marshal fell on a bridge and broke her leg.

“It was a horrible hole,” said McGinley. “It was nice to hole a birdie putt there but my mind was on the lady breaking her leg.”

McIlroy, 10th in the US Open on Monday, was only level par with four to play, birdied the next two, but then closed with a bogey six after trying to hit out of a fairway bunker with a wood and hitting the lip.

Just ahead of them Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie had a real rollercoaster ride before signing for a 70. Three under after six he fell back to level par, but finished with back-to-back birdies.

Not a good day, though, for American John Daly. He could manage only a two over 74, the same as Irish Open amateur winner Shane Lowry, now in danger of a third successive missed cut as a professional.

Meanwhile, Goosen was left wishing he had changed putters a week ago after he rolled in eight birdies.

“It would have been nice to make them at the US Open — I holed nothing there,” said the 40-year-old South African after a 64 put him two in front of England’s Richard Finch.

Goosen, 16th at Bethpage Black on Monday, added: “I tested a new putter in the pro-am here and it felt sort of good, so I decided to give it a try.” Two birdies in the first three proved to him it was a good move and after picking up further strokes at the sixth, ninth and 13th he finished with three more.

The last one had a touch of good fortune, though. His approach to the par five squirted right and might have gone in water but for clattering into a television tower.

The twice US Open champion is seeking his first European Tour victory for more than two years, but in the past eight months has tasted victory in Asia, Africa and America.

Conditions were as muddy underfoot as they were in New York and one particularly bad shower forced play to be suspended for a while.

As a late starter Goosen avoided that, but being caught in it did not bother Finch — and nor should it have after what happened at the Irish Open last year.

The Hull golfer famously won at Adare Manor after falling in the river playing a shot on the final hole.

This time he returned to eagle the sixth, his 15th, and birdie two of the next three.

In the group three behind was Welshman Phillip Price and following David Duval’s showing in the US Open perhaps this is going to be the week of the big comebacks in golf.

Three days after world number 882 Duval finished joint runner-up, former Ryder Cup hero Price, down at a lowly 981st in the rankings, began with a 67.

The 42-year-old’s best round for more than two years gives him the chance to rescue his European Tour career with one good performance.

XX SENIORS TOUR: Ireland’s Des Smyth made a solid start to The De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship, carding a one over par opening round 73 to lie four shots off the lead at De Vere Slaley Hall.

The 56 year old, whose form has been gradually improving this season, posted two birdies and three bogeys over the Hunting Course as he looks to build on two consecutive European Senior Tour top-10 finishes.

Smyth, who was tied third in the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open, is tied 18th after the first round, with four players – former Ryder Cup player Gordon Brand Jnr, American John Benda, Paraguay’s Angel Franco and South African Jeff Hawkes sharing the lead on three-under-par 69.

Jimmy Heggarty and Eamonn Darcy are both on 74.

CHALLENGE TOUR:England's Andrew Butterfield smashed the course record with a round of 62 to open up a three-stroke lead on the opening day of The Princess, the new € 300,000 Challenge Tour event which Henrik Stenson is supporting.

Seven birdies and an eagle in a flawless round at Båstad GK in Båstad, Sweden, shot Butterfield to nine-under-par 62, leaving Wales’ Sion E Bebb and local favourite Fredrik Andersson Hed his nearest challengers on six under.

The 62 was not his lowest round – he signed for a 60 in the 2005 Open de Mahou de Madrid – but with a stiff breeze making for some testing playing conditions.

Andersson Hed has also set his sights on regaining his European Tour playing privileges after continuing to show encouraging signs of a return to form.

The Swede, who had his father Jan-Christer on his bag, picked up shots on his opening two holes and, despite a dropped shot at the third, added a further five birdies to join Bebb in a share of third place on six under par.

Colm Moriarty, Simon Thornton and Jonathan Caldwell are 10-shots back on 72.

First Round Scores

BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN

(GC Munchen Nord-Eichenreid, Munich)

First round(Irish in bold, British unless stated, par 72)

64 - R Goosen (Rsa) 66 - R Finch 67 - J Kingston (Rsa), P Price, A Coltart, M Lafeber (Ned), D Willett, D Lynn, N Fasth (Swe), G Bourdy (Fra), M Fraser (Aus) 68 - B Langer (Ger), S Kjeldsen (Den), A Velasco (Spa), J Sandelin (Swe), R Echenique (Arg), O Fisher, S Dodd, Paul McGinley (Irl), B Lane, T Levet (Fra), H Stenson (Swe) 69 - R Jan Derksen (Ned), A Hansen (Den), B Grace (Rsa), Peter Lawrie(Irl), K Ferrie, C Phadungsil (Tha), T Jaidee (Tha), F Aguilar (Chi), M Millar (Aus), M Brier (Aut), G Fdez-Castano (Spa), N Dougherty, L Oosthuizen (Rsa), S Shankar P Chowrasia (Ind), P Broadhurst, MA Jimenez (Spa), P Archer, I Van Weerelt (Ned) 70 - C Del Moral (Spa), G Orr, K Eriksson (Swe), P Hedblom (Swe), J Bickerton, G Storm, A Snobeck (Fra), L Slattery, M Jonzon (Swe), W Ormsby (Aus), R Cabrera Bello (Spa), B Wiesberger (Aut), Michael Hoey(NIrl), J Gonnet (Fra), C Montgomerie, S Strange (Aus), M Siem (Ger), S Benson, D Vancsik (Arg), B Rumford (Aus), D Drysdale, L Donald 71 - Damien McGrane(Irl), M Kaymer (Ger), P Edberg (Swe), S O'Hara, P Larrazabal (Spa), J Edfors (Swe), Rory McIlroy(NIrl), M Kramer (Aut), C Wood, S Davis, J Huldahl (Den), S Kapur (Ind), Gareth Maybin(NIrl), S Drummond, M Brown (Nzl), Gary Murphy (Irl), R Green (Aus), T Goya (Arg), J Lucquin (Fra), C Doak 72 - J Haeggman (Swe), B Barham, S Wakefield, P Hanson (Swe), S Struver (Ger), B Dredge, C Cevaer (Fra), H Otto (Rsa), A McLean, D Howell, P Waring, G Lockerbie, M Higley, P Lawrie, F Zanotti (Par), L Gagli (Ita), M Foster, R Sterne (Rsa) 73 - M Carlsson (Swe), D Frost (Rsa), A Cejka (Ger), C Macaulay, M Ruiz (Par), S Gallacher, J Campillo (Spa), S Gross (Ger), A Wu (Chn), O Henningsson (Swe), J Randhawa (Ind) 74 - M Lundberg (Swe), T Aiken (Rsa), M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), F Cabrera (Arg), T Schuster (Ger), R Dinwiddie, F Fritsch (Ger), A Wall, J Daly (US), T Remkes (Ned), Shane Lowry(Irl), A Canizares (Spa), M Haremza (Ger), S Little, P Fowler (Aus) 75 - R Bland, R Ramsay, D Froreich (Ger), F Delamontagne (Fra), A Quiros (Spa), R Gonzalez (Arg), W Besseling (Ned), JE Morgan, M Warren, R Porter (Ger), I Garrido (Spa), P Martin (Spa), P O'Malley (Aus) 76 - A Kang (US), M Erlandsson (Swe), A Forsyth, C Nirat (Tha), M Tunnicliff, G Havret (Fra) 77 - A Haig (Rsa), A Tadini (Ita), M Gojcic (Slo), M Ilonen (Fin), M Curtain (Aus), B Parker, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den), J Lara (Spa) 79 - A Nilsson (Rsa) 80 - M Farry (Fra) 82 - M Keskari (Ger).

CHALLENGE TOUR THE PRINCESS

(Bastad GK, Bastad, Sweden)

First round(Irish in bold,Britsih unless stated, Par 71) 62 - A Butterfield (Eng) 65 - S Bebb (Wal), F Andersson Hed (Swe) 66 - C Rodiles (Spa), T Carolan (Aus), L Bond (Wal), U Van Den Berg (Rsa), R Coles (Eng), P Barth (Swe) 67 - Z Scotland (Eng), R Steiner

(Aut), C Gunther (Ger), A Sjostrand (Swe), O Suhr (Den), K Webber (Aus) 68 - C Suneson (Spa), A Bruschi (Ita), S Surry (Eng), J Wahlqvist (Swe), N Lemke (Swe), S Jeppesen (Swe), M Rodriguez (Arg), J Abbate (Arg), N Bruzelius (Swe), A Ahokas (Fin), J Lima (Por), D Kupper (Ger), A

McArthur (Sco) 69 - J Sjoholm (Swe), P Gustafsson (Swe), T Whitehouse (Eng), J Clement (Swi), G Paddison (Nzl), L Saltman (Sco), P Bocian (Swe), M Korhonen (Fin), F Calmels (Fra), C Carranza (Arg), A Tampion (Aus), M Wiegele (Aut), B Evans (Eng), M Rominger (Swi), R Hie (Ina), J Guerrier

(Fra), G Houston (Wal) 70 - L James (Eng), B Akesson (Swe), K Jorgensen (Den), N Meitinger (Ger), J Morrison (Eng), J Grillon (Fra), P Kaensche (Nor), A Hogberg (Swe), J Colomo (Spa), G Boyd (Eng), R McEvoy (Eng), M Cort (Eng), W Schauman (Swe) 71 - F Henge (Swe), J Dantorp (Swe), P Whiteford (Sco), A Marshall (Eng), T Karjalainen (Fin), E Molinari (Ita), I Giner (Spa), B Miarka (Ger), A Rocha (Bra), R Kakko (Fin), A Mork (Fra), L Brovold (Nor), S Barr (Aus), J Granberg (Fin), A Gee (Eng), A Willey (Eng), G Murray (Sco), S Tiley (Eng), M Larsson (Swe), C Gane (Eng) 72 - A Grenier (Fra), K Edberg (Swe), L Westerberg (Swe), M Laskey (Wal), N Smith

(USA), C Moriarty(Irl), J Bjerhag (Swe), J Larsen (Nor), O Floren (Swe), M Tullo (Chi), K Brink (Swe), J Arruti (Spa), S Thornton(Irl), K Sullivan (Wal), B Hebert (Fra), R Muntz (Ned), S Walker (Eng), J Caldwell(NIrl), N Colsaerts (Bel), F Colombo (Ita), R Swane (Ned) Other Irish: 75 - G Shaw(NIrl), N Fox(Irl), 76 - M McGeady(Irl)

PGA SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP

(at De Vere, Slaley Hall)

First round(Irish in bold, Britiah unless stated) 69 - A Franco (Par), G Brand Jnr (Sco), J Hawkes (Rsa), J Benda (US), 70 - K Spurgeon (Eng), 71 - G Towne (US), B Cameron (Eng), B Lincoln (RSA), T Rastall (Eng), J Quiros (Esp), M Briggs (Eng), G Cali (Ita), T Giedeon (Ger), 72 - C Williams (Rsa), D Russell (Eng), V Garcia (Esp), 73 - I Woosnam (Wal), C Rocca (Ita), A Barrera (Arg), T Charnley (Eng), M Cunning (USA), B Charles (Nzl), C Mason (Eng), Des Smyth(Irl), E Rodriguez (Esp), B Boyd (USA), 74 - T Allen (Eng), P Oakley (USA), A Hemsley (Sco), T Johnstone (Zim), J Heggarty(Nir), P Mitchell (Eng), M Williams (Zim), E Darcy(Irl), J Hoskison (Eng), R Masters (Eng), S Torrance (Sco), M Harwood (Aus), J Chillas (Sco), M White (Sco), R Chapman (Eng), G Ryall (Eng). Other Irish:75 - D OSullivan(Irl), 76 - E Polland(Nir), 77 - P Hanna(Nir), P OHagan(Irl),