Bjorn turns his day dramatically with course record

MAYNOOTH, Ireland, May 19 (Reuters) Eight-times European Tour winner Thomas Bjorn bounced back from a calamitous finish to his Irish Open first round today morning to equal the course record 66 in the afternoon.

Bjorn not only made the cut with ease but, with a level-par 144, is only four strokes behind the early second-round leader Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.

Bjorn triple-bogeyed the last to shoot a six-over-par 78 but turned his day with a six-under reply, citing advice from his mental coach Jos Vanstiphout for his dramatic change in fortunes.

''I had 50 minutes before going out again and Jos told me 'you have to learn how to dig yourself out of trouble', and that's just what I did,'' said Bjorn after signing for a six-birdie card.

''A 66 has put me back in the tourament from an almost impossible position.'' The 35-year-old Dane, looking for a victory that will kick-start his Ryder Cup campaign, for once enjoyed his day in Ireland.

Last year at the K Club, which will host the Ryder Cup match with the United States in September, Bjorn took an 11 at the penultimate hole to blow his European Open chances.

The previous year he walked off the adjacent course at the K Club after six holes with ''demons'' in his head.

''There are no demons any more,'' said Bjorn. ''I've gone a long way from that.

''I'm a long way out in the order of merit and the Ryder Cup list and my priority now is to be one of the best 12 players in Europe. I want to be one of the best players in the world but first you have to be one of the best in Europe.'' Bjorn played alongside a visibly dejected Darren Clarke, whose wife Heather is battling cancer, and pledged his support for the troubled Northern Irishman.

At the end of his round of 70, that left him only a stroke behind the Dane, Clarke admitted he was looking forward more to the European Cup rugby union final tomorrow than playing golf.

''I'm deriving no pleasure in what I'm doing,'' Clarke told reporters.

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