Philip Reid hears how a slightly superstitious Davis Love has breathed new life into his game

Déjà vu? Well, for Davis Love, that seemed to be case yesterday. On a cold, wet day that resembled that of his winning final round back in 2003, the other similarity was the way he ripped the course to shreds. "It was there for the taking, if you hit the ball well," observed Love in that matter-of-fact way of his. Only his eyes betrayed a deeper sense of satisfaction.

Back in 2003, Love refused to ditch his raingear even when the day cleared. Having clicked into birdie mode, he didn't want to make any change that might alter his mindset. Yesterday was a case of same old, same old.

"When I got up, I said it was going to be a rain jacket day, it's going to be a bit drippy," he recalled.

And, just as on that March day three years ago, when he overtook Padraig Harrington and shot a 63 to leave the Irishman in his wake, the rainwear - a different item of clothing on this occasion, although he has sentimentally kept the old top - proved to be some sort of lucky omen.

"It wasn't coming off. After (getting to) four-under through nine (holes), it wasn't going to come off," Love quipped, after an opening round 65 that left him sharing the first round lead.

That Players win in 2003 was the second of four victories in that career-best season. Yet, Love has failed to add another title since capturing the International that year and has slipped to 18th in the official world rankings. Yesterday, though, his game was more reminiscent of his old self as he produced a flawless display.

Having forgotten the art of winning, Love has a new sense of purpose.

"It's always frustrating when you don't win when you have a chance. Mistakes add up and, then, sometimes injuries add up. And, sometimes, life adds up, piles up on you. Did I ever doubt myself? Yeah, I did some, thinking am I going to be physically strong enough to do this, to hit a high cut four-iron into number eight like I used to," he revealed.

Rather than merely hope that his old game would reappear, Love made some lifestyle changes. He changed his diet, and started to work out more.

"I made a lot of progress physically last year. I got to feel better . . . (and) I'm looking forward to the next five to eight years, not just this week or this year. I still have the same goals and the same excitement now at almost 42. I'm still in my window of opportunity and I want to keep working hard at it."

Love's assault on the course came early, and was relentless. On the par five second, he found the green in two with a four-iron approach and two-putted for his opening birdie; on the sixth, he hit a nine-iron to three feet; on the eighth, he hit a four-iron tee-shot to two feet, and then completed the opening half of his round with a six-footer for birdie on the ninth.

He didn't wait long to hit the birdie trail again on the back nine. On the 11th, he found the fringe of the green in two and two-putted for another birdie, then holed from 10 feet on the 12th and completed a clean sweep of the par fives when, having being forced to lay-up when his drive found the right rough on the 16th, he pitched to seven feet and rolled in the putt.

"There's always something frustrating about not winning," said Love. "(But) I said a couple of times out there, 'if I can stand on my own, I know I'm going to win soon' . . . This is not a good course to catch up on, because we know it is going to get harder and harder every day. It's nice to get off to a good start."